


As Long As We Are Together (Claymore)

by TheGreatestShow



Category: Claymore (Anime & Manga)
Genre: A lot more to be added, Anxiety Attacks, But hey it's a family, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Enemies to Friends to Family, F/F, F/M, Gen, Gore, M/M, Make that two weird and crazy families, Multi, My OCs play matchmaker indirectly, My precious silver eyed children deserve happiness, One weird and crazy family, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Several crack moments, Teresa and Priscilla being BAMFs, The Organization is screwed, Torture, first story on this site, later on, mentions of child prostitution, mentions of child rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 18:03:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16791991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatestShow/pseuds/TheGreatestShow
Summary: The Organization has lived to see the birth of what may become its end, not a grand and terrible beast or a union of the Abyssal ones, or even an attack by another nation. No their doom might come in the form of one of the most precious things there is for the tortured souls they created; a family. I am terrible at summaries. Suffice to say AU and OOC, hope you read and review.





	As Long As We Are Together (Claymore)

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: Ah, here we are, although I am still working on the first story I started writing, a Darkest Dungeon one, my mind began to wander to what the Claymore universe would be like with a few...alterations and well...this is the result. A story where Teresa is a total BAMF, Clare is cute and adorable and must be protected, Teresa is more than a little Overprotective of Clare (Saving her being a total yandere for her for another story), Irene, Sophia, and Noel are in relationship, and several other lovely little surprises. 
> 
> Needless to say, this story is a massive AU with OOCness abound, a few crack moments, and a guest appearance from two of my universal OC’s 
> 
> As always, flames will be used to make S’mores that I will not share, and reviews and critiques are appreciated. Also, there are a few subtle references hidden within this story, I wonder if you can find them all. 
> 
> By the way, this story is un-beta'd, so any faults and mistakes are mine and mine alone and I fully accept that, and I will die like a man! 
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: This story will contain allusions and references to rape, child abuse, and attempted rape, and it will also contain gore, bllod, violence, possibly lemons later on, awakened beings eating people and things (not really cannibalism since they're not the same species), torture and mentions of torture, panic attacks/ anxiety attacks and nightmares. And maybe some other things later on. 
> 
> If any of that offends you, or makes you not want to read the story than I suggest you leave now. 
> 
> Disclaimer: *Skims through documents, before tossing them aside* Nope, I don’t own anything relating to the Claymore Universe *sobs* save this story where my precious girls are safe and happy. Literally, I own nothing so don’t bother suing me, you will lose far more than you could ever hope to gain. The Claymore anime belongs to Madhouse and the manga to Norihiro Yagi. At least I think that’s how it goes but I think Norihiro is the original creator and as such is the original owner. I think. 
> 
> Fic Recommendation: And Tears Yet Fall, there is a few subtle nods to the story in this one. It is an amazing take on an Irene/Teresa story that I encourage reading. Although it says it is under rewrite it is plenty good to me. 
> 
> Anyway, I guess I've taken up enough of your time. Now on with the show!

*Clang* A shock-wave tore across the desolate landscape, the rocks shuddering as something tumbling to the ground and other shattering as a shock-wave tore itself across the landscape causing what animals had not already fled to either take flight in the opposite directions while those confined to the earth immediately put the full strength of their bodies into their legs as they dashed away from the area that now appeared to be coming apart at the seams.

*Clang* Another shock-wave and the great stone pillar that rose into the sky, a stark monument in the otherwise desolate rocky landscape, collapsed the rocks that made it up both great and small shattering as they fell to the earth below as the two duelists continued their lethal dance in the midst of the collapsing pillar.

*Clang**Slash* Once more the duo’s dance recommenced blades meeting each other in a frenzied ballet of destruction, as each thrust and slash and cleave came with such force and speed that those who were left to watch on the sidelines, three injured to the point of being unable to interfere in the duel and one too frail to even be able to consider entering the chaotic yet strangely beautiful Danse Macabre that tore through the landscape with all the force of a hurricane lit a flame.

The light of the sun cast high above in a clear patch of light blue in the otherwise cloudy sky shined down onto the two dancers. From a distance the only difference that one could discern of the two individuals was that one had longer hair than the other and seemed to fight with a great deal more control than their shorter haired counterpart who slashed and tore as a swordsman possessed. Each swing enough to rend the earth and carve out great gashes into even the sturdiest of materials, and yet they were less precise and less coordinated than the other warriors whose blade seemed to carry the same deal of strength and yet seemed to dance and flicker around the maddened swings and slashes and thrusts of their fellows' own blade.

The light glinted off of silver armor, which, when coupled with the bright blonde hair and the fair skin that both warriors seemed to share gave them the appearance of angels or at the very least blessed warriors as the clashed neath the suns own golden light. Those watching could only stare in awe at the scene before them, the aches and pains of their own wounds and the desperate fear that the youngest of their number felt, nearly washed away by the shocked awe that raced through their beings at the duel that played out before their eyes.

The youngest of the group who sat on the sidelines watching the frenzied dance of death, a young girl with flowing auburn hair and green eyes, watched with awe upon her face, lips partially parted as her eyes had widened to their limits at the chaotic battle that she beheld. She had known that her guardian was powerful, she had always know that she was strong, but to see this, to actually have a chance to behold even a sliver of her dearest friends power was something that hammered home to her just how powerful the woman truly was.

For the other three who sat a small distance away from her, the sight of the sheer amount of devastation that the two warriors were unleashing and the sheer waves of destructive force that tore across the rocky plain obliterating all that they came into contact with or sending it flying into other direction served to make their silver eyes widen to the same degree as the young girls. The wounds that marked their bodies were of little concern to the three of them, partially due to their own enhanced healing factor and partially because of the fact that they were very certain that they had slipped into a mild state of shock as the beheld the duel of the century occurring right before them.

Their armor was partially stained and soaked scarlet in several of the areas that were covered by the light silver colored cloth that covers the majority of their frames, their shoulders concealed by armored pauldrons and their waist by a metal skirt like piece of armor were also partially stained crimson in several areas or were aching from the wounds that they had endured in their attempts at fighting the longer haired warrior who was clashing with their younger comrade.

One among the group, a woman with pointed almost elfin ears, and an aquiline nose that matched her near regal features turned to gaze at the young girl who stood nearby staring on in amazement. The thought of attempting to use the child as a means of convincing their opponent to submit barely had time to register within her mind before it was immediately dismissed, partially because she had her own senses of honor and justice and such an idea was a direct contradiction to them and partially because she had no doubt the longer haired warrior would more than likely willingly Awaken if it meant rescuing the young girl if what she had observed about the two so far was any indication.

The same thoughts seemed to be echoing within the heads of the two other warriors that rested on either of her sides as one of them, her hair shorter and spiked in appearance and with a more laid-back demeanor, suddenly turned away from the fight to look at the young girl as well, before she opened her mouth and spoke up.

“Irene,” she said, referring to the woman whose side she sat at, “I thought you said Teresa could only sense _yoki_ in here opponents and use that to predict their moves and find weak spots?” She said posing it as both a question and a statement to the woman who turned to look at her before she spoke up as well, “In all the years I’ve known Teresa I have never seen her fight like this, to be honest I had no idea she was capable of something like this, Noel.” She replied to the now named Noel, who simply kept switching her amazed glance between the young child and the furious dance of blades that was occurring before them.

“Am I the only one thinking that we should probably put a lot more distance between us and the kid,” Noel asked aloud as she glanced at the destruction that the two warriors duel had dealt to the landscape, the sundered ground the shattered stone pillars, and he shock-waves that tore apart everything else in the immediate are of the duelist that were currently causing small fragments of rock and clouds of dust to billow in to the air partially obscuring them for a brief moment before another shock-wave blew away the dust in time for another to appear.

“No,” Irene spoke up, “While if we get to close it is likely that Teresa will divert her attention from Priscilla and come after us as well if we get too close to her or make any hostile motions towards her, if we manage to keep a safe distance from her but also keep her near us than I believe Teresa will take care to avoid moving the battle to where we are.”

“Yeah, but that’s assuming those two don’t decide to come over here, because I don’t know about you but I doubt I could dodge a full powered sing from Teresa at this point, let alone manage to dash out of the way.” Noel spoke up again as she winced when a particularly harsh *Clang* echoed across the plains, the shock-wave jostling the third member of their party who had fallen unconscious after taking a harsh blow to the head courtesy of Teresa flinging her into a building and then ramming her head into the cobblestone street with enough force to knock her out but not kill her.

Noel tightened her grip around her companion and glanced at her to make sure that she was still at least moderately alright. Her wavy blond hair had a slight streak of dried brownish red blood and was greatly disheveled, her normally fair skin was paler than was healthy as a result of blood loss from the vicious slash across her back, something that had thankfully begun to heal as the makeshift cloth bandage she had made was already soaked through. Her lip had a small cut on it, and her right eye was certain to develop a nasty bruise in the morning if the fact that it was already beginning to form was any indication.

‘ _Come on Sophia, hang in there, once we see an opening we’ll get you out of here and try and help you heal up a bit._ ’ She thought as she gazed her wounded comrade worry for her condition rising to the forefront of her mind to the point that it took Irene placing her hand on her shoulder, something that prompted a low groan of pain to leave her lips, she was fairly certain that Teresa had slammed the blunt side of her sword into her shoulder either that or she had slammed a damned boulder into it if the amount of pain she felt was any indication, to jolt her from her reverie.

“She’ll be fine.” Irene spoke up, her words low and calm, in an effort to comfort the woman who held one of her dearest friends and comrades in her arms when she was in such an injured state. “Sophia is strong, she’ll be fine, once we see an opening we’ll try and get out of the immediate area of the duel so that we can look over her wounds and treat them more carefully. With any luck we’ll be able to help speed up her recovery.”

“Y-yeah, sounds like a good plan to me,” Noel replied before she turned her gaze to the clash again as another shock-wave tore its way across the plains as the great swords that the two women wielded with all the ease of someone holding a twig or a rapier, the two great blades were of the same type and the same make, the great swords that were the origins of the women's shared title, one whom very few of them were proud of.

Claymore.

The dust kicked up by the shock-wave had diminished enough that the other two warriors were able to see that the two women were locked in what seemed to be a deadlock with both of their swords having met and neither budging an inch even as both parties exerted their strength and force behind their respective blades. The stalemate continued until the moment that the shorter haired warrior, Priscilla took a gamble and lifted up her foot to deliver a swift kick to the longer haired warriors, Teresa’s, stomach. The sudden lack of having another limb bracing her against the blade would have forced her to quickly dodge to the side just as Teresa’s sword smashed into the earth where she had been and more than likely severing the attacking limb. However, the kick had caused Teresa to switch to a one-handed grip on her blade her left hand lashed out and quickly seized the offending limb by the ankle, all the while maintaining her grip on her blade with the same amount of force she had when was wielding it with two hands, and suddenly spun about on her heal slamming Priscilla into the ground with enough force that a loud crack was audible from the area.

The impact had prompted a small dust cloud to appear, but it did little to conceal the fact that Teresa had yet to let go of Priscilla’s leg if the fact that she suddenly came flying out of the dust cloud, skipping across the land for a few moments before Teresa appeared before her in a burst of blinding speed as she reared back her leg and slammed it into Priscilla's stomach launching her even further across the ground and into one of the few standing, yet cracked and battered, stone pillars that stood upon the barren stone fields.

Even from a distance the small plume of scarlet that leapt out of Priscilla’s mouth was visible to the watchers, the vibrant scarlet standing out even amongst the dirt and dust covered armor and tattered uniform that Priscilla wore. The scarlet liquid trickled slowly from the corner of the younger warrior's lip as she began to struggle to lift up her head to gaze at the woman who was now striding towards her.

*Click**Click* The sound of her approaching form was audible to all those present over the sudden stillness of the battlefield, the rhythmic clicking of her greaves on the stone echoing loudly within the ears of those who heard it as Teresa approached the battered form of Priscilla, her blade held calmly to her side ready to be swung to deliver the deathblow in an instant should the need arise.

*Click**Click* There was no hurry or rush, her strides were calm and measured, making her appear almost like some great beast of prey advancing on a wounded beast ready to deliver the final blow and claim its meal. Though there was something off about the way she carried herself, the slow and measured approach as she calmly strode towards the younger woman, and the way she seemed to be almost hesitant as she raised her sword, before she paused.

The sudden absence of sound on the devastated battlefield was more deafening than the thunderous clashes of blades and the roar of the shock-waves they tore their way across the desolate landscape. Those present couldn’t help but feel the beginning of some form of anxiety begin to well in them as the silence carried on, no words spoken, and even their breathing had become hushed as they awaited the death blow being dealt, or some last-minute attack by Priscilla. Instead all there was, was a sudden stifling silence as Teresa stood before the still from of Priscilla, her blade held at her side as she seemed to be examining the young woman.

Finally, a faint sound was audible, although the young child had to strain her ears to hear it, the warriors were able to hear it clearly.

“W-why?” Priscilla managed to choke out, a few wet coughs leaving her lips a few small spurts of scarlet left her lips as she struggled to lift up her head, but even the slightest attempts at movement caused great pain, forcing her to maintain her position, her heavy-lidded silver eyes struggled to remain open as she forced herself to stay awake.

Teresa moved forwards slowly, her blade still held out at her side as she calmly strode forward to the point that she stood but a few inches from the younger woman. Her silver eyes fixed firmly on the young woman implanted into the wall, her form trembling as small streams of tears leaked from the corner of her eyes as she struggled to remain conscious amidst her desperate attempt to move, to stand, to fight.

Teresa calmly lifted up one hand and placed her hand on Priscilla's cheek, her finger gently wiping away a stream of tears as she slowly lifted the girls face to where two pairs of silver orbs met.

For several moment there was nothing, no sound, no movement, from the two women as they simply gazed into each other's eyes, appearing to all the world as something akin to a pair of living statues.

“Look over there,” Teresa spoke up finally, her voice ringing out across the battlefield as she slowly tilted Priscilla’s head to the side to where her gaze was fixed on the small child who seemed to be anxiously watching, obviously struggling with her desire to run to the woman who meant the world to her. Green met silver as the young child looked at the woman, whose faced was in Teresa’s grasp.

“Do you see that little girl,” Teresa asked as she leaned in closer to Priscilla, though her voice didn’t lower allowing her words to remain audible to those present.

“Y-yes,” Priscilla managed to speak up her gaze still fixed on the child who was looking on worriedly, her small form trembling as she kept her gaze on the two women. Her eyes altering between being fixed on Priscilla and Teresa as she struggled to hear what was being said by the two of them.

“The moment that you dared to approach that child with your blade drawn, that was the moment that this fight was lost to you.” Teresa spoke calmly to the younger woman, her grip not lessening or tightening as she kept Priscilla’s gaze fixed on Clare as she leaned in closer ensuring that her next words were heard loud and clear by the younger woman. “That child gave me something that I had never known before, something that I had given up on long ago. Do you know what it was?” Her voice had become as sharp as the blade in her hand.

“N-no,” Priscilla spoke as she tried to gaze at Teresa only for the woman to once more force her head to turn to the side so that she could look at the young girl that had become her world.

“Hope.” Teresa said, “that is what she gave me. Hope for something more than being the Organizations trained attack dog. Hope that even someone like me could find joy in this world. Hope that even a warrior like me could find peace and acceptance in this world.” Her voice as sharp as her claymore, she relinquished her grip on Priscilla’s face and allowed the younger woman to turn and face her ash she took a couple of steps back from the woman.

“I told the Organization that I had found something new to live for and I meant it, and how they respond, they send one of my oldest friends and someone who has been completely indoctrinated to their will, along with two of my former comrades to try and take that purpose from me.” Teresa said as she saw the younger woman’s gaze turn incredulous as she looked at the older woman who stood before her.

“But, I'm not going to kill you,” Teresa spoke as she kept her gaze fixed on the younger woman who looked startled just like the other two conscious warriors who found their eyes widening at that statement, as they turned to one another for a moment before turning back to listen to the conversation.

“Why,” Priscilla queried as she continued to struggle to remove herself from the rocky outcropping that she had found herself embedded in, although her attempts proved futile as her body, beaten and bruised as it was, refused to move even as she began to channel more and more of her _yoki_ into her body in a vain attempt to rise, to fight.

Teresa looked at the younger warrior with something akin to pity her silver orbs, as she calmly lifted up one of her hands and placed it on Priscilla’s shoulder. The sudden contact causing the younger warrior to suddenly jolt, her eyes, having been clenched shut as she struggled to free herself, flew open as she saw the older woman looking at her with open pity as her struggles began to cease even as more and more of her _yoki_ began to surge through her.

She could still do it.

She could still fight all she needed was to...

“Stop,” Teresa spoke up, her voice low and surprisingly gentle as she calmly gazed at the younger woman, noting the increase in the amount of yoki within the younger woman’s body she decided to finally put an end to this duel. She had offered mercy, and it was obvious that it had been refused.

Raising her blade up, Teresa noted the visible changed that were already begging to form on Priscilla, her silver eyes now a bright golden yellow, her teeth lengthening into fangs as her nails sharpened into claws, her features beginning to take on a more feral appearance as the _yoki_ within her grew and swelled till her limits had been reached and yet still her battered body could barely force itself to move.

More she needs more.

More power.

More strength.

Her power began to swell to the point that a burning agony began to spread throughput her body as her form began to change slowly and gradually into something far more demonic in nature. Her now blazing yellow orbs snapped up into a pair of silver orbs that contained a great deal of shock for but a moment before a frigid chill suddenly encompassed them.

“You would really go this far?” Teresa spoke up her voice low as she looked at the changing woman before her, “You would truly abandon your humanity to obey those who see you as nothing more than a weapon?”

Priscilla’s blazing yellow orbs, met Teresa’s silver as she snarled out a single word from what had become a maw of vicious dagger like teeth, as a pulse of _yoki_ slammed into all those present, prompting horrified expression to rise on the faces of Irene and Noel, as well as Clare who, though unable to sense _yoki_ like a warrior, would still feel the sheer amount of power that had just torn its way across the plains.

“ **YeS, BuT NOt FOR THEM. For ME!** ”

Her voice was distorted, a guttural growl laced with enough malefic hunger to paralyze all those who heard it save for the longer haired woman who suddenly leapt back just in time to avoid a sudden strike from Priscilla that tore her arm from the stone that she had been entrapped in.

Teresa’s arm blurred as her blade slashed at Priscilla, aiming to take her head off in one clean blow, only for the younger woman to suddenly launch herself from the rocky outcropping, ducking forward into a roll to avoid the attack, as she whirled around on her heel, her now taloned hand lashing outwards to tear into the older woman’s side only for Teresa to dodge to the side as she brought her blade to bear with one hand while her other hand clenched into a fist for a moment before relaxing.

It took a moment.

Less than a moment in actuality.

A rock falling from the stone pillar had barely touched the ground for the briefest instant before all hell broke loose once more.

One moment the two warriors were standing there, silver meeting yellow, before in the next instant an explosion of dust and debris marked the area where the two of them had been before their duel resumed once more, this time at a far more severe level.

Irene felt torn between two different decisions. On one hand now would be the perfect time for her and Noel to flee while the two titans before them were distracted by their reignited duel, while on the other hand, if Priscilla did indeed awaken further and become an awakened being, then it would more than likely require more than just Teresa to kill what could become a very real and very severe threat of the region they were currently in. Never mind the fact that as Priscilla’s superior, at least for this mission, she felt it was her duty to assist in preventing her comrade from becoming the very thing they hunted, and if that could not be done, then to grant her a peaceful death would be the best thing that she could do for the poor girl.

The sound of the young girl crying out as a shock-wave knocked her from her feet and sent her sprawling across the stone below her, caused Irene’s gaze to immediately snap in that direction as the air seemed to grow still for a moment, no shock-waves as the devastating clash between the two seemed to pause for a moment, before Irene noticed one of the figures blitzing their way towards the girl, and if the outstretched hand tipped with talons was any indication, it was Priscilla.

Her mind was fading.

Hunger began to tear at her from within as her skin began to turn a shade of purple as a horn sprouted from the center of her forehead, blond hair turning silver in color as her form began to turn further and further away from human and into something truly horrible.

Her claws were barely able to match the warrior's blade, even as she flooded her arms with _yoki_ , and her blade was still too far out of reach, knocked out of her hand during their earlier duel and sent sprawling into the stone somewhere on the battlefield prior to her being implanted in the stone pillar.

No matter. Claw and fang would do the job well enough.

Appendages akin to wings began to emerge from her back as she let out another bestial howl of rage as Teresa scored a glancing blow on her side, the sword biting lightly into her flesh prompting several small trickles of blood to leak from the already regenerating wound. Her talons lashed out wards, smashing into the ground where the woman had been but a moment before as she whirled about on her heel, claws bared, to parry a strike from the blade that prompted a shock-wave to tear across the blasted landscape. Her foot lashed out, the claws digging a thin cut into the older woman’s stomach as she leapt back a little too late to avoid. She was finally reigning in her ability to suppress her _yoki_ once more although it was at best erratic given the massive fluctuations in her power that were prompting this transformation.

If fortune favored her, she would be able to use it sparingly enough that it wouldn’t interfere with her change, the sheer power that was currently within her reach was the sweetest temptation that she had ever felt, and she would not be denied it.

Her rational mind was nearly consumed, and all that truly remained was the single prerogative that had become so deeply entrenched into her psyche.

_Kill Teresa_.

That thought was one of the few coherent things that were racing through her head, the others were the hunger that had consumed her in a raging inferno of agony that begged to be sated, and the second was the rage that had begun to coat her vision scarlet as nothing she did seemed to have even the most remote effect on the woman who had pushed her this far.

She knew that if she could kill her, she could satiate all of these thoughts, she could tear her open, rip her apart limb from limb and eat her fill on the mass of blood-soaked organs that rested in her. She knew she could eat her fill on the woman’s guts and then she could have her little girl’s own guts as a desert.

Maybe she would just maim Teresa and let her watch as she tore that little girl she was so fond of into bloody pieces and ate her fill on the mangles mass of entrails and flesh. This though was running through her mind the moment that her claws met with Teresa’s blade producing yet another devastating shock-wave that tore across the area surrounding them, something prompted a cry to echo across the plains.

The cry of a young girl.

The cry of an easy target.

Teresa’s eyes widened at the sound as her gaze immediately snapped to where the sound had come from, immediately scanning the area around the young girl for any sign of danger, only to see Priscilla suddenly in the corner of her eye.

Cursing to herself, Teresa raised her blade to meet Priscilla’s claws, only for the purple skinned woman to seize the blade in her hand and yank to the side, something which prompted a thick rivulet of ichorous blood to trail from her hand, the same color as they liquid that now leaked from a myriad of smaller cuts and scratches that she had gained in their duel.

The blade jerked to the side, Priscilla quickly struck, her claws quickly lashed out tearing through the material of  
Teresa’s attire and carving out a small chunk of flesh from her side, something which prompted a sharp gasp to leave the older woman as she leapt backwards, pulling her blade with a now _yoki_ enhanced arm, something which prompted Priscilla to roar out in pain as the blade nearly carved off the her fingers, while a few were only slashed lightly her ring, index, and thumb were all three nearly severed from her hand, barely hanging on by the bone alone.

With a growl she willed more _yoki_ to race towards the wounded digits, feeling the flesh beginning to quickly knit itself back together to the point that she would at least be somewhat capable of using her digits, granted they would be sore but at least they would still be attached.

She noticed Teresa favoring her other side, as blood streamed from the slash she had given her, something which prompted a smirk to leave her lips as her gaze subtly moved to where the cry had come from.

Her tongue extended and slowly licked her lips as she suddenly blitzed away from Teresa and towards the younger girl.

She could practically taste the little girls fear, and Teresa’s horror as she raced out of the dust cloud that had lingered from their last brief clash.

Straight towards that trembling little morsel.

Her hand outstretched, talons glinting in the light as they were raised high in preparation if tearing through flesh and bone alike. Her maw began to drool slightly as she imagined the smell and taste of the girl's organs as she tore them from her stomach and fed upon them in plain view of that whore she had followed so faithfully.

Irene and Noel watched in horror as the monstrosity that was once their comrade raced towards the young girl, who stood more than likely frozen in terror at the monster whose killing intent slammed into all those present like a frigid wave from the coast of northern Alfons. The sheer malice contained within prompting a cold sweat to break out across the three wounded warriors, as even the unconscious Sophia could tell that something truly horrible was being born this day.

‘ _Dammit_ ,” Irene thought as she tried to force herself to stand, to rise enough to reach the child and get her out of the way of Priscilla’s incoming charge, and if the same word being grunted from Noel’s lips was any indication, she had the same thoughts. It was something in them, that desire to save someone from such a fate, or maybe it was the desire to try and save someone who was obviously dear to someone who was once a dear friend till their paths separated.

But their wounds were still healing, and their bodies ached from the abuse they had endured in their duel with Teresa. There was little they could do save watch as one of their comrades turned into a monster and prepared to dispose of her humanity in the worst way possible as her malice and hunger consumed her.

Noel began to channel _yoki_ to her legs, slightly speeding up the healing process, but it would still be too late, the same was going through Irene’s mind as she began to do the same. Even though they both knew that they would not have the time to intervene and even if they did, they would more than likely be torn apart in the girl's place.

They watched as Priscilla bore down on the child, as the young girl stumbled backwards and fell, eyes wide as she cried out at the monster the aimed to take her life.

Priscilla’s claws and fangs glinted in the light as she brought them to bare, her wings spread out behind her, and her vibrant yellow eyes glowed like jewels from the pits of hell, as she neared her prey.(1)

Her arm reared back.

Her claws parted the air with a whistling sound as they tore through it to reach her target that was now within her reach.

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened wider in a near demonic smile.

*Schlick*

*Thump*

*Drip*

*Drip*

*Drip*

Eyes widened at the sight before them.

Mouths hung open as the two conscious warriors attempted to process the sight that stood before them.

The child was the first to come out of her stupor as she still sat on the ground where she had fallen, her eyes wide with shock at the sight before her. Her lips parted as she spoke up, her voice the only thing audible in the now still battlefield save the sound of something dripping onto the stone below, slipping through the cracks and being swallowed into the base earth.

“T-Teresa?”

The curtain of long blond hair, and the silver uniform, the feeling of comfort and safety, the way she stood, even the faint scent she caught when the wind shifted all confirmed that the woman before her was indeed her Teresa. Although that also left the question of how she was able to outpace Priscilla when she had seemed frozen in place, but Clare couldn’t bring herself to care, all that mattered to her was that Teresa was with her. She could ask her later on how she was able to move so fast, but for now she was just happy to be near her again.

“Clare, would you do me a favor?” Teresa spoke, her voice low and calm, the quiet before a cataclysm to those who saw how stiff and still she had become, but to young Clare it was just a quiet and calm voice.

“Y-Yes,” Clare said without question, although she stuttered slightly at first due to the feeling that had begun to emit from the woman in front of her, something that, although it didn’t frighten her, certainly made her feel on edge.

“Would you go over there with Irene and Noel for a moment, and please cover your eyes when you get there.” Teresa spoke up as the feeling in the air began to grow more and more intense, the air itself becoming thicker and yet also more frigid, the coldness or a blizzard beginning to make itself known over the once warm area.

Clare opened her mouth to speak up again, only for Teresa to cut her off in the same calm tone of voice as she looked over her shoulder, a slight tremble was visible for a brief instant before it vanished, her silver eyes turning warm and gentle as looked at Clare, a soft smile playing across her lips.

“Don’t worry they won’t hurt you, I promise.” She spoke with absolute conviction behind her words, certain that Irene and Noel had hear them if the sudden sharp intake of breath from one of them was any indication. Those two would know very well what would happen to them if they tried anything, although she doubted they would try anything in the first place given what she knew of both of Irene’s own personal code of honor and Noel’s own beliefs on the same matter.

“B-But What about you?” The child asked, her eyes still staring transfixed into Teresa’s now slightly glowing silver orbs, no trace of yellow, just her own silver orbs glowing like faint stars.

Teresa’s smile widened into a truly genuine expression of peace, and her eyes seemed to dim in their glow by a small amount, although they were still far brighter than usual, and she seemed to gain a small glow to her complexion at the words.

“Don’t worry, I'll be fine. Now go make sure those two don’t do anything crazy.” Teresa’s voice was like the gentlest breeze to Clare, something that made her want to run to the older woman and embrace her again, the iron conviction behind the words enough to convince her to go to the two women, although she though she heard one of them say ‘ _Crazy, who does she think she’s calling crazy?!_ ’.

So, with a small smile that made the radiance of the glow that had come over Teresa’s expression much more beautiful to see, and her smile turn that much softer, Clare turned and, after pushing herself up, began to run towards the two women who were busy staring at Teresa in no small amount of shock and awe.

Although Clare was unable to see it, or feel it for that matter, the warriors and monster present could barely believe the sight before them. For, surrounding Teresa was a blazing yellow glow as wave after wave of _yoki_ slammed into those present, the feeling of the _yoki_ was like great frigid waves smashing onto their bodies, the cold coming in direct contrast to the visible, flame-like aura that had engulfed Teresa, was not the only reason for the shock that the three other conscious fighters felt.

Under normal circumstances, or as normal as one could get in fight between warriors and _youma_ , the _yoki_ of most individuals was invisible to the naked eye, save for those who had trained their sensory abilities to their peak, or had at least honed an unnatural knack for being able to sense it. And, even then, it could only typically be seen as a faint glow or a small aura surrounding that individual, not as the blazing aura that was easily the size of a large on fire that had begun to emit from Teresa the moment that she had appeared in from of Clare.

The waves of frigid _yoki_ paralyzed them, their hearts beginning to race even as they felt the sweat that had formed on them from being exposed to the monstrous killing intent that the now monstrous Priscilla had been calling forth in her duel against Teresa begin to freeze to their body, and they could swear that their breath had also become visible. Their limbs trembled, even as they unconsciously tried to force them to remain still, mentally fighting against the primal urge to flee as they began to feel trembles begin to rake through their frames.

Even the unconscious Sophia began to tremble as though in the throes of a nightmare, whimpers escaping her lips as she unconsciously sought reassurance that she was at least in possession of a modicum of safety by trying to burrow deeper into Noel’s trembling frame.

Their silver eyes had widened as they saw Teresa adopt an expression of cold apathy the moment Clare began to race towards them, the frigid feeling in the air growing stronger as the air itself seemed to gain a great weight, baring down on their shoulders as though they had the weight of an ocean been pressed onto their shoulders.

What made the two-feel ice cold fingers begin to wrap themselves around their hearts, however, was not the waves of sheer murderous killing intent that was currently bearing down onto them. Now was it the frigid waves of youki that had reached a level of power so great that each individual wave, seemingly timed with the woman’s own heartbeat, caused the ground to crack and the few remaining stone pillars to groan and begin to come apart. No what made the two warriors, each veterans of countless battles tremble, was the color of Teresa’s eyes.

With the amount of power that she was currently emitting, Teresa should have already begun to undergo several transformations, her teeth becoming sharper, her eyes becoming blazing yellow orbs, as her voice became growls and snarls as her humanity began to bleed away, and yet that was not the case. And yet, that was not the case. Her features remained as human as always, at least as far as they could tell as Teresa had pressed her lips into a thin line, a small trickle of scarlet leaking from one corner where she seemed to have bitten down too hard in some internal struggle to reign herself in.

In fact, it seemed that the only true change that Teresa had undergone, at least in terms of her appearance, was that her eyes were now twin orbs of glowing radiant silver, like stars, and yet there was no warmth in those eyes. There was little but a frigid apathy, a cold malice that hung just below the surface, a blade waiting to be drawn.

If they were barely able to breathe from this far away. If they were partially paralyzed by little more than the sheer weight of the power and killing intent that was emanating from Teresa, even from their distance, than what was going through Priscilla’s mind as she stood there frozen, one arm resting on the ground as thick streams of dark ichor flowed from the clean cut just below where her elbow once was.

Irene and Noel could only imagine that the stifling silence that was coming from the young woman turned monster, was due to the sheer terror that she was currently experiencing due to the close proximity between the two, and the fact that it appeared as though the vast majority of the killing intent was focus onto her.

Irene replayed what she had seen but a few moments ago in her mind, her eyes narrowing as she pictured Priscilla nearing Clare, claws outstretched, one moment the girl’s death was certain, the next Teresa stood in front of her Blade held in an after-slash position as Priscilla’s arm fell to the ground with a meaty thud. The only conclusion that came to mind was that the woman had somehow managed to channel enough _yoki_ to her legs to boost her speed to the point where she had been able to close the distance between the two and deal the blow faster than they could see.

‘But still, the sheer amount of speed necessary would have required a tremendous amount of _yoki_ , never mind the potential for her damaging her own legs using so much to enhance her speed,’ Irene though as she continued to try to make sense of what she saw but a few moments ago. She was so focused on both her thoughts and on keeping a close eye on the scene in front of her that she barely noticed when the little girl drew near to them.

She barely noticed the girl's presence until she realized that the air around them was no longer so dense or so frigid, that and Noel nudging her shoulder and motioning to the young girl who stood nearby fidgeting nervously about being so close to the two warriors, a small nervous smile gracing her lips as she shifted from one foot to the other.

Her gaze turned from the scene of the two warriors for but a brief instant, snapping towards the young girl who looked at them worriedly. Part of her hoped that the girl didn’t panic about being so near to the three of them and prompt Teresa to turn her attention to them once more, while another part of her was equally as apprehensive about allowing the girl to be so near to them in case they accidentally scared the girl and drew Teresa’s ire towards them.

“Are you alright,” The sound of the girl’s soft voice startled Irene as she saw the child draw closer towards them, the air returning to normal in temperature, the weight that had been pressing down onto their shoulders dissipating as the girl drew closer to them, her eyes softening as she took in their condition. The girl drew closer still as she pulled off the small pack on her back, opening one of the folds she began to rummage through the pack until she pulled out a small bandage and held it in front of her.

“Here you look like you need it, and we’ve got plenty to spare,” she spoke up, her voice low and timid as she drew closer to them, the bandage outstretched like a peace offering. Irene felt more than little bit confused at the girl's gesture, as little more than an hour or so ago they were not quite enemies, but they had had been sent to kill the woman that obviously meant the world to the younger girl. And yet here the girl was, hand outstretched, offering them some of her and Teresa’s own supplies to help them heal.

Her silver eyes narrowed as they searched the girls own green orbs for any sign of deception or ill intent, and yet she saw none, just a genuine desire to offer them some form of help. Well that and no small amount of trepidation at being so near to the three who had once been comrades with the woman turned monster who was currently attempting to kill both Teresa and her.

‘What a strange girl,’ was a thought that was unknowingly shared between both her and Noel. As the two women examined the young girl for a moment more before Irene spoke up.

“Are you certain that that is a wise decision girl? For all you know we could be planning to resume our attack on Teresa once this duel is decided. So why are you attempting to aid us?” Irene said, watching the girl closely.

Clare showed little reaction to the words save to tilt her head to the side, a curious gleam entering her eyes as she looked at the two women for a few moments before she spoke up.

“You won’t.” She said as she examined them.

“Oh, what makes you say that child?” Irene said, a raised eyebrow the only show of her confusion at the way that the girl sounded, as though she were stating something that was absolute and not subject to any form of change whatsoever.

“Because you wouldn’t win.” The response prompted Irene’s eyes to widen as Noel turned and glared at the child for a brief moment, before a whimper from Sophia caused her to immediately snap her attention back towards her wounded friend, her pride being overwritten by her concern for her friend.

Before either of them could open their mouths to speak up in their defense, the girl continued.

“Teresa told me that she didn’t want to kill you, and that she would only try and injure you when you fought,” that statement caused the two women's eyes to widen near comically as they immediately turned their full attention to the child as she looked at them with a calm look in her eyes, mirth evident within them, although it was well hidden. “She said that the three of you were her friends, and that she hoped that maybe she could convince you to come with us, and maybe she wouldn’t have to fight you if you tried to talk with her.” Their eyes couldn’t have widened much further at the girl’s calm statement if they had tried, even the normally calm demeanor of Irene being sundered by the girl’s statement.

“W-wait, you mean to tell me she beat us into the ground without even trying” Noel managed to choke out, her eyes fixed on the girl’s own before they snapped over to Teresa, who was calmly flinging Priscilla around the landscape, blood spattering onto the stone with every one of the impacts of Priscilla’s body as she was slammed into the jagged rocks of the few standing pillars, reducing them to piles of dust and debris, as faintly audible snapping and cracking noises were evident, although surprisingly the woman who was being flung about like a toy was silent. Well, surprising until Noel spotted the streams of blood flowing from the woman’s mouth and the way that her lips would occasionally part as though to cry out only for more thick rivulets to flow out.

‘ _D-did she tear out her tongue?!_ ’ Noel thought in horror as she examined the sheer agony written into the woman’s face as she was ruthlessly pummeled into the land over and over again and again, sometime smashing into the earth with such force that she bounced up for a brief moment before Teresa grabbed her ankle and flung her into another boulder or rocky outcropping of which she was able to safely say there were few remaining, or slammed into the ground and then flung about like a leaf in a storm.

“On second though I can believe she was holding back, but what do you mean ‘come with us’?” Noel asked, her tone low and breathless at the blatant display of brutality before her, idly noting that Teresa had yet to use her blade, calmly keeping it placed at her side in the event she grew weary of using Priscilla as a living breathing, though for how long remained debatable, punching bag.

Irene had noticed the carnage as well, and had felt a shiver run down her spine at being on the receiving end of the brutality that Teresa was now displaying. True she had been plenty brutal during their fight, each swing of her blade making their arms ache to parry or block, flinging them about into building or smashing them into the ground (or into each other, her aching back reminded her from when she was slammed into Noel and THEN into the road), but nothing came close to the cruelty that she was currently visiting upon their former comrade.

In all the years that she had known Teresa she had never once been subject to the woman’s wrath, and if what she was currently seeing was indeed the depth of what she was capable of, although a sinking feeling in her stomach told her that it wasn’t, she was truly grateful for that fact.

She had only ever seen the aftermath of Teresa’s anger before, and every time had cemented the woman’s position as number 1 in her mind.

A partially destroyed forest, caught up in the middle of her battle with a particularly stubborn _youma_ that she had claimed had offended her through some means and had as such provoked her ire. Although she never elaborated as to just how the beast had managed to anger her to the point of the forest being an acceptable casualty in her pursuit of killing it.

Four of their fellow warriors, each a single or near single digit in rank, who had managed to somehow anger the woman being sent to the medical wing at the same time, each with injuries of such an extent that even with regeneration they would be confined to bed rest for several weeks at least. None of them would even look in the other woman’s direction for upwards of a month afterwards, and would run if she approached them.

A mountain that had become a small ravine, courtesy of a pack of _youma_ who had been cowering within the depths of the mountains cave system, using a demented style of hit and run tactics to kill their prey, after they lured it back to their lair. How that had happened was once a mystery to her, something that had had her, Noel, and Sofia gawking at it and the sight of Teresa calmly sitting on a small rock munching on an apple with a small pile of youma heads at her feet, now not so much.

All of those examples had paled to the time when someone had insulted the three of them in Teresa’s presence. It had taken all three of them, and several other single digits, plus around a dozen double digit warriors to restrain her from killing the new warrior. She couldn’t remember their name or symbol as they had made it their life's mission to stay as far away from Teresa and them as humanly possible afterwards.

Noel’s question had startled her out of her internal reverie concerning her friend's propensity towards leveling the area during her few, known at least, rages. Her gaze turning back towards the child who had adopted a confused expression at Noel’s question, once more tilting her head to the side as she drew closer still, the bandage still held in her outstretched hand.

Irene would deny it to her dying day, but even she found the expression on the younger girls face to be adorable.

“Teresa was hoping that we could travel together, though she never really mentioned where she wanted to go,” the young girl responded, looking at Noel with an expression that read plainly as ‘ _What did you think I meant?_ ’.

Irene could swear she heard Noel grumble something akin to ‘ _Smartass kid_ ,’ under her breath but she wasn’t really certain as she schooled her expression back to being calm and collected, and raised an eyebrow at the younger girl's statement.

“What do you mean she never mentioned where she was going,” she asked, all though in truth the thought of Teresa just wandering around without a destination in mind was not at all that surprising to her. The woman was always one to behave impulsively, doing things on a whim with little to no explanation for said actions to be heard of afterwards. Something that had always managed to get under Irene's skin given her own structured and organized thought process and behavior. (2)

The girl merely shrugged her shoulders as she stood an arm's length away from them, her outstretched hand kept at a respectful distance as she responded, “She’s never really told me where she wants to go, only that she wanted to keep on travelling.” The girl responded, her expression pensive as she tried to recall any moment where Teresa had hinted at having a destination in mind, only to run into a dead-end.

Irene examined the young girl and weighed her options, she didn’t need to look at Noel to know that their original plan of taking Sofia and fleeing was more than likely no longer probable, and that no matter what decision she made her friend would support her.

On one hand she and Noel could take the injured Sophia with them and go their separate ways from Teresa and the girl, Clare if she recalled right, and head out to an area that was beyond the reach of the organization or at least somewhere they would not think to look at. Hopefully this would at least last until Sophia was back on her feet, and her and Noel were fully healed or at least recovered enough to fight off any hunter the Organization would send after them. Something she was certain would happen regardless of which of the two options they decided to take, she was certain that once word reached them about both their failed mission and Priscilla's awakening, the Organization would more than likely send a sizable contingent of their fellow warriors with order to claim all of their heads.

If it was only her, Noel, and Sophia, she was fairly confident that they could take whoever the Organization sent after them, with the exception of those whom they had little to no knowledge of the skills of. She was also fairly certain that they would at least have a decent head start on any pursuers, although after that advantage was lost, she knew they would be able to catch up with them given that they would have to rest and recover and allow Sophia herself time to recover as well.

Their wounds were thus something of a drawback to the idea of just the three of them going off on their own. At least if they were with Teresa, assuming her offer was genuine and she highly doubted that it wasn’t given the woman’s penchant for honesty, and the close bond that the four had once shared prior to the woman’s desertion after breaking the Organizations law about taking human lives (although from what she had learned, the ones that she had killed would not be missed in the slightest), they would be plenty safe and once all three of them had recovered they would be able to easily fend off all but the strongest hunting forces.

Although if what she seeing right now was any indication, then they might be safe even from the most powerful of the hunting parties, and if they all combined their strengths together they might even present a very real and very formidable threat even to the Awakened Beings and, perhaps, the Abyssal Ones.

If they remained with Teresa they would be a larger target for the Organization to locate and they also ran the risk of being much easier to track, likewise, even though they could defeat the warriors that were sent after them, they would be under a constant threat from hunters and that would eventually begin to wear them down.

‘ _Never mind the fact that that was is way for a young girl to live_ ,’ She thought absently, surprising herself with the sentimental thought directed towards the child. However, it might just become that child's life no matter what decision she made, and at least if they were together they would be able to deal with any threats to their collective safety with near contemptuous ease, at least she hoped that was the case.

At the same time, however, if they could convince other warriors to join them...they had the potential to become something that even the Organization would not want to waste the resources to hunt down, or even a serious threat. And perhaps, if they beat enough of their fellows the rest would get it into their heads that hunting them down was something akin to accepting a suicide mission, and would thus leave them alone.

With all of these thoughts in her mind she turned her gaze to Noel, and silently sought her opinion on what to do with little more than a glance into the woman’s eyes. She saw the way that Noel kept her gaze flickering between her, Sophia, Teresa and Priscilla, and the girl as though she were attempting to make sense of a whirlwind of thoughts within her head.

Lifting her right arm, biting back a groan at the aches and pains that blossomed once more into existence the moment she did so, she placed her hand on the other woman’s shoulder, her grip soft yet firm at the same time, a comforting weight that offered reassurance to her fellow in the stead of words. Noel’s gaze snapped to her, their eyes meeting, and Irene felt sympathy for her fellow at the slightly dazed look in her eyes. It was to be expected given everything that had occurred over the course of but a few hours, that the younger woman would be more than a little disorientated by everything, and truthfully, she was amazed that it had taken this long for the weight of everything to be felt by the young woman.

Her gaze softening, Irene lowered her hand from the woman’s shoulder to rest on top of her hand where it lay atop Sophia’s cheek and gently cupped both it and the cheek below, her finger absently running across the smooth skin of Sophia’s cheek as she offered comfort to her fellow.

She felt more than saw the younger woman startle, slightly jumping, not a great deal but enough to jostle Sophia to the point where their injured comrade let out a low and pain filled whimper, her silver eyes opening just a little bit revealing them to be hazy and clouded as she whimpered out a lone word.

“N-Noel?”

Her voice hitching in her throat as she looked at her partner, the normally rash and headstrong young woman appeared for all of the world as a frightened child, as she hesitantly responded.

“Y-yeah Soph it-it's me. You just rest up okay, you got knocked around pretty good earlier, and you need to recover.” Noel spoke up, her thoughts were obvious to Irene and possibly even to the young girl who had maintained her respectful distance since she had begun her contemplation, but was now looking at them with no small amount of worry in her eyes as she watched the interaction taking place.

Her eyes already beginning to drift shut once more as she unconsciously nuzzled closer into Noel, Sophia mumbled out a barely audible “Okay,” as she once more began to drift off into a deep slumber to allow her body time to recover.

Noel turned her gaze towards Irene, before she looked over Teresa who was still attempting to paint the landscape with Priscilla’s blood, and she was doing a pretty damn good job if the young woman had to be honest, over the young girl who stood fidgeting, bandage still outstretched, and finally to the young woman held so closely within her arms.

Her eyes met Irene’s once more, and the desperation within them, the desperate need for something, anything, to offer her even the smallest modicum of safety, of comfort, of grounding in the harsh waves of fear that had begun to sweep over her, was enough to prompt Irene to reach out lift up her arm once more and place it around the younger woman’s shoulders, pulling her into a one-armed embrace.

As Noel, turned an buried her head within the crook of Irene's neck, the woman turned to the young girl.

Her decision was made.

She outstretched her hand, and the girl stepped forward and placed the roll of bandages into her hand. Irène looked into the girl's green eyes, as she nodded her head and said.

“Once we talk with Teresa, we’ll give you two our decision, but for now, know that you and her have nothing to fear from us.” Although Irene had to begrudgingly admit to herself, that it was highly unlikely that they were truly a threat to Teresa if what was still going on was any indication as to the fact of the matter. After handing Irene the roll of Bandages, the young girl fulfilled the second part of Teresa’s command, and reached up her hands to cover her eyes just as the battle seemed to reach its end.

A loud crash drew their gaze from each other to the demolished landscape, the stone pillars were now all gone, save the ones near them, the ground was shattered and fragmented, the boulders that had littered the barren land reduced to little more than a combination of pebbles and dust that was quickly swept away in a light breeze. The sky above them had begun to darken some, the clouds growing darker and more in number as the faint echo of thunder rung throughout the valley, the solemn tone of a church bell upon the eve of a funeral.

The sky’s darkness was matched only by the frigid and tense atmosphere that formed around them as they beheld the sight which stole their attention. The source if the loud crash whose reverberations throughout the otherwise still landscape had masked the approaching thunder perfectly, was clearly visible to them in the form of Teresa holding the now fully transformed Priscilla by her throat, the monstrous woman was absent an arm and a leg and one of her eyes was concealed beneath a thick stream of blood that poured down from a gash that ran across her forehead, her horn was shattered, reduced to little more than a broken off stub of the purplish flesh colored bone, small streams of scarlet liquid leaked down from the sides of it, and the way it slanted slightly forward and the thin strand of meat attached to the uppermost part of it made clear that Teresa had attempted to rip it off of the woman’s head.

The wings that Priscilla had gained upon her monstrous transformation were reduced to mere bloody stubs that gushed out thick rivers of blood as they struggled to regenerate only to have Teresa absent mindedly reach her other right hand out and, with a savage jerk, tear off the small amount of skin that had been regenerated, she would then swap hands having her right hold Priscilla’s throat with an almost tender touch, as though she were holding a lover or a dear friends throat, and not the monstrous woman that she had obviously brutalized to this point, and then reach out with her left and repeat the process on the woman’s other wing.

All the while Teresa’s gaze, eyes of blazing silver, never left Priscilla’s lone visible bright yellow eye.

‘ _Her eye isn’t covered in blood_ ,’ Irene absently noted, true the gash on her forehead was leaking copious amounts of the red liquid, but even then, the blazing yellow eye should have been plainly visible if not slightly dimmed. Instead, all that was visible of the eye was the thick streams of blood leaking from both the scalp and what she now realized was the empty hole where the woman’s eye had once been.

The woman’s lips were parted enough to allow thin rivulets of scarlet to trickle down from either side, and yet she could only make out faint wet gurgles and pain filled groans. Something which made Noel shudder beside her, prompting her to look at her from the corner of her eye as she tightened her arm around her shoulders.

“Noel?”

“S-she tore out her tongue,” the younger woman said her body trembling slightly as she watched the spectacle before them. “I noticed it earlier.” She finished.

Irene felt her eyes widen as she felt a chill work its way down her spine as she turned her full attention back to the macabre spectacle before them.

Teresa kept her grip light on the woman’s throat as she forced herself to remain calm, forcing herself to reel in the waves of youki that were pouring from her, enshrouding the area surrounding in her in a faint golden-yellow haze of frigid malice as she held the young woman’s throat in her hands, her thumb absentmindedly stroking the surprisingly smooth purple skin as she absently noted the almost leather like texture of the skin.

Her eyes fixed on the young girl before her, as she tried desperately to reel in her killing intent, to put the monster that she had let loose back into its cage, something that was proving quite challenging, namely due to the fact that she was uncertain she wanted to stop what she was doing right now.

She felt the slick leathery stub in her right hand for but a moment, before she clenched her hand hard enough to slinter the fledgling bones therein and cause the flesh to burst like an overripened tomato, her nails tearing off chunks of flesh as she twisted her wrist to the side, silently savoring the way the woman's bones sang out in a symphony of snaps and cracks, the sounds, although distracting, allowed her to pull herself from her internal struggle for a moment as she jerked her arm upwards pulling off the fledgling wing and flinging it to the side.

It landed with a meaty thud on top of 5 others, Priscilla’s regenerative capabilities were truly outstanding, to nearly regrow her wings 5, now 6, times, within but a few moments of having them initially removed was something she had never seen before.

She idly noted the terror and agony filled yellow eye that looked at her with horror, something that called back memories that made the minster within her roar with delight and her shudder slightly as she was finally able to force it back into its cage, reeling in the last of her killing intent, allowing the shadows cast by the clouds to darken the area, as her eyes dimmed back to their normal silver.

She had never quite understood why her eyes glowed silver instead of yellow when she began to exert more than 10 percent of her youki, although she had always been intrigued, she simply didn’t want to give the Organization the opportunity to strip away from her what small amount of freedom she had once had so that they could examine and experiment on her to see what caused the effect, or goddesses forbid they come to the conclusion that it has some beneficial effect and deiced to try and replicate it with someone else. Now that she had severed her ties with them however...no it was still something that was largely unimportant to her, besides she had much more important matters to focus on at the moment.

The girl she held in her hand being one such matter of importance.

Her head tilted to the side slightly as she weighed her options and their potential ramifications in her head.

On one hand she could kill the young woman here and now with but a flick of her wrist and then, after she recovered it from where she had left it impaled into the earth near them before she had seized the young woman’s throat, a simple swing of her sword would more than likely be sufficient to put an end to the young woman’s existence before she was able to further grow in power and pose a greater threat to the rest of the island nation.

While this option would have some benefits, such as removing a potential candidate for the title of Abyssal One from the equation and also depriving the Organization of one of their more powerful warriors, it also presented a few small problems that made it the less tempting of the two options that were present for her to choose from.

The first point in the favor of her second solution was that she had already given the young girl her word that she would not be killed by her hand, and she was not someone who went back on her word so casually. She had made it an important facet of her existence that what promises she made she kept or at the very least attempted to, and while one could argue that the young woman choosing to kill her was a sign of refusal of her offer, Teresa was more than a little certain that the young woman would now be more than happy to agree to leave her and hers alone in exchange for her continued survival.

The second point was that Priscilla could also serve as a potential distraction for them. Something that could draw the Organization’s gaze from them to the monstrously powerful young woman who was before her. The sheer threat that the woman’s power would pose would not be something that the organization would dismiss, especially considering the fact said power was easily on par with an Abyssal One if not outright superior to said creatures' power. That coupled with the fact that they would have to divide their attention between the two of them, and thus dividing their forces to send them after both of them thus leaving their main area of operation more than a little exposed save for what warriors they ordered to remain behind to defend their respective area and as such the Organization’s base of operations.

Her thoughts torn between deciding which of the two options would benefit her and Clare more, she was seemingly unaware of the fact that she was still tearing off Priscilla’s regenerating wings until felt a warm liquid trickling down her wrist and trailing almost to her elbow before the sensation disrupted her reverie.

She calmly lifted up her arm and saw that her entire gauntlet was now little more than a gore covered appendage, the metal nearly invisible beneath the chunks of mangled flesh, and the generous coating of blood that even now trickled down onto the earth below her as she examined her hand. She idly flexed one of her fingers, noting the resistance of the flesh that had gotten got under the seams of the metal put up, further exemplified by the way that a sizeable chunk pf flesh that had been concealed by the thick pool of scarlet in her palm fell to the earth with a wet slapping sound as she turned her hand over so that she could examine the back of it.

Even the back of her gauntlet clad hand had not been spared becoming little more than a largely unrecognizable mash of gore and blood, in fact were she not aware that it was her hand and that she was unharmed, she would have immediately assumed it to be someone else’s hand or that she had been injured by the mutilated Priscilla through some means.

She shook her head side to side slowly as though she were attempting to dispel what remained of the previous haze of thoughts that had been swirling within her head so that she could focus on what was occurring before her.

Her hand reached out once more, and she could feel Priscilla trembling, hear the agonized whimpers that left her lips, ‘ _Her tongue must have regrown_ ,’ she thought absently before she reared back her hand and struck the younger woman in the center of her sternum with enough force that the snapping of bone was audible to her, even over the brief agonized cry that had time to leave Priscilla’s lips before her hand flashed and seized her tongue in her metal glad digits.

She could feel the woman tremble and could hear the whimpers that left her lips, the nearly incomprehensible pleading for her to stop right before she jerked her arm back, tilting her head to the side to avoid the vicious spurt of gore that left the woman’s mouth as she once more tore out the woman’s tongue once more. Feeling a cruel satisfaction at the gurgled howl of anguish that tore from her lips as the woman went slack in her hands, the agony she was enduring must have been pushing her towards the edge of unconsciousness.

That wouldn’t do.

She calmly reached up her left hand while tightening the grip her right hand had on the woman’s now crushed and mutilated stump of a wing, she saw the woman tense trying to brace herself for what would surely be a harsh blow. Her keening whimpers and agonized cries echoing in Teresa’s ears and the woman’s absolutely wretched expression of agony and anguished etched onto her face caused Teresa to hesitate for a moment as unwanted thoughts tried to reach the surface of her mind only to be harshly crushed back down into the darkest recesses where they belonged.

Her hand raised up higher, and Teresa heard the monstrous young woman begin to sob, the wet gurgling sound accompanied by brief bouts of scarlet being coughed out of the woman’s lips as tears flowed from her eyes, the one she had torn out having regenerated enough that its vibrant yellow glow was now noticeable under the sheen of blood that still poured down her face in bow thin rivulets from the nearly healed gash she had given her across her forehead.

“P-please,” She heard, the word surprisingly clear although greatly muffled by the woman’s sobs and the wet sloshing of blood filling her mouth as the younger woman seemed to be focusing all of her remaining youki on healing her tongue now instead of her wings.

“I-I'll be a-a good g-girl I-I promise,” The woman whimpered out causing the memories within Teresa to slam against her mental walls, the faint impressions of several images seeping through the cracks were ignored to the best of her abilities as she forced them back down again only for the woman’s anguished sobbing to force them back to the surface.

For a brief moment she saw herself as a child, huddled in a corner, her clothes were torn and hung off her thin and badly malnourished frame as though they were made for a person triple her size. Her eyes were wide and glassy as she rocked back and forth, whimpering in pain whenever her lower body shifted even a bit at the action. She heard the sound of someone putting on their pants and the cruel laugh of a man as he spoke something to her parents.

She hardly registered the door to her ‘room’ closing as the man and her parents went outside, leaving her alone in the dark with only her misery and the approaching, leering face of another man for company.

Something soon joined by her screams and cries.

She snapped out of her reverie, idly noting the tears that had begun to leak from her eyes as she relived her hellish memory for but a brief moment to those watching, but for an eternity to her. Those words had been the very same one’s that had left her lips after the first few men were done with her, as she begged her parents to make it stop only for them turn their backs on her and leave with their newly gained money to purchase groceries for themselves, and a few smaller portions for her enough to keep her alive but nowhere near what a child needed to remain healthy.

She felt something swell within her chest, something she had not felt in many years. Something that she had felt when she had seen the way that the villagers shunned Clare merely because she had been a captive of youma. She was ever thankful that Clare had not suffered as she had, she could not imagine, she dared not imagine a world where her Clare had suffered as she had as a child.

As she listened closely to the whimpering sobs that tore from Priscilla’s throat, she felt that feeling swelling within her chest grow.

Sympathy. She idly noted.

She released her grasp on the younger woman’s stump of a wing and instead laid her palm on Priscilla’s shoulder, feeling the leathery texture of her skin through her gauntlets, she idly noted the rivulets of gore that leaked from her glove and onto the woman’s shoulder, some dripping down from shoulders alongside the front and back of her chest and arm, before it reached the ground.

She felt the woman still, a low keening sound leaving her lips as her bright yellow orbs rose to meet Teresa’s now calm silver orbs, the radiant glow that had accompanied her extreme rage having finally been cooled by her regaining control of herself.

Her lips quirked upwards into the faint smile that was her namesake as she released the woman’s throat allowing for Priscilla to slump down onto her knees in front of her, yellows eyes widening to the point that it appeared almost comical to Teresa, as she kneeled down before her.

She saw the way that the young woman’s frame shook and trembled as she looked up at her, certain that the woman standing before her this goddess made flesh, was about to deal the executioners blow and put paid her entire existence rendering all that she had gone through and done as meaningless and useless abstractions with but a deft sweep of a sword. And so, she did what any one placed within such a position where they knew that both fight and flight were entirely redundant would do.

She cried.

The dried blood and gore that had become attached to her face from the gash on her forehead and the occasional splattering of blood from the various wounds that she had endured through her and Teresa’s struggle became wet once more as tears trailed down from her eyes, leaving visible paths on the purplish flesh as they made their way through the dried gore.

Her breathe came in great heaving sobs and small whimpers alike as she clutched her arms around herself in a vain attempt at protecting herself from what was to come, or perhaps to offer herself some degree of comfort in the face of a certain death. Even she was no longer certain.

Her body trembling, she opened up the eyes that she had shut as she awaited what was certain to be her end, when no end came for her. Her head tentatively lifted itself up from where it had been looking at the ground trailing her yellow orbs over the blood coated flesh and armor of the woman who stood before her, little to none of it being the woman’s own. Her gaze traveled to the woman’s hands that were now resting on her waist as she tried to wipe off the gore that covered them on what few areas of her armor were not already caked in the steadily drying coating of blood and mangled chunks and strips and pieces of flesh.

Her eyes caught the way the woman seemed more concerned with cleaning off her hands rather than killing her opponent as she saw the woman’s lips narrow into a thin line as her eyes narrowed as well as she seemed to be contemplating how best to get rid of the covering of filth that she had acquired in their duel.

“W-why-?” The word had left her lips in a low and hushed whisper before she could stop it, her body went ramrod still as Teresa turned her gaze from herself to her. She saw Teresa tilt her head to the side for a moment, eyes further narrowing as though deep in thought for but a moment before her expression returned to something approaching the serene expression that she had seen from afar before she and Irene and their companions had launched their attack on her at the hotel. Although not quite as relaxed as the expression she had shown when in the presence of the young child, it was still a great relief to see something other than the terrible cold malice that had been sculpted onto the woman’s face as she had demolished her. Compared to that, this calm and almost sympathetic expressions was a great relief.

“I know what it’s like,” Teresa said, her words filled with something akin to a long buried or otherwise concealed bitterness, the scar on an old wound opening up exposing the raw and festering gash for all to see, as her eyes met with Priscilla’s own.

She saw in that moment something that lurked within the older woman’s silver eyes, something that made Priscilla feel an unidentifiable something swell within her, overpowering the once rampant rage and hunger that had been fueling her earlier, although that truthfully didn’t require much effort given that Teresa had thoroughly ground said hunger and rage into the earth once she had begun to destroy her in earnest.

She saw the sympathy that had suddenly began to enter into the older woman’s eyes as she stood there, towering over her kneeling form, her armor and cloth and flesh, soaked scarlet with gore and viscera, her fair skin gleaming in the faint light that had begun to pierce through the clouds like freshly hewn marble in the areas where splashes of ruby were not visible, the way her long hair blew in the slight breeze, and the sympathetic look that had entered her eyes made the woman appear to be the incarnation of the deity of whom she was named after.

Priscilla felt hope swell within her.

Hope that Teresa might be able to look past her earlier transgressions and spare her life. Hope that this deity made flesh would allow for her to leave this battlefield and find somewhere nice and far away from her, preferably somewhere where she had several hundred walls between the two of them, to live out the rest of her days in peace and quiet.

Or perhaps she would...

No best not let her mind begin to wander down that path, every time she had gotten her hopes up in the pasty it had always ended the same way. Her being broken hearted when she learned that all of her hopes were nothing but lies that she had told herself to numb the pain that was to come.

Her hopes that her family would be happy on their farmstead?

Gone when the _youma_ attacked, tearing her father to blood soaked shreds before they advanced on her mother. She could still remember the agony as one of them forced her eyes to remain open, nails piercing into the very lids of her eyes as its clawed hands held them wide open as it cackled at her screams, and made her watch as the other one took its time filleting her mother like she was some form of overgrown fish. Carefully dicing off chunks of flesh like a butcher, discarding those it found unsuitable for consumption before it began to pile up her entrails onto a plate it had grabbed from their kitchen and began to eat after making a second one for its fellow.

She remembered watching in numb horror as they ate at the table in some perverse mockery of whatever humanity they had once had, even taking the time to mutter a faint prayer before they dug into the still steaming pile of bloody organs and entrails.

She remembers one of them asking what to do with her, only for the other one to respond that she ‘Ain’t got enough meat on her bones for a meal. Let’s just leave her here, no point taking her with us and no point in just killing her. Let her grow up a bit, and once she’s nice and plump we’ll come back for her.”

She couldn’t have stopped the shudder of revulsion that tore through her at the way the beasts discussed her fate, it was as though they were discussing what to do with a piece of livestock and not a young girl whose family they had just torn apart and eaten!

True to their word they had left her to rot in a pool of her own filth, caused by the sight of the monsters tearing apart her father, and devouring her mother.

She would never forget what they had yanked out of the center of her mommy’s belly and placed on the center of the table to have for desert. She would never be able to drown out the wet snaps and cracks and the meaty tearing sounds as they had devoured something that should have been a blessing to her family. They had even attacked at the very moment that her mommy was going to tell her father that she was...

The scarlet stain and the few discarded piles of bone on the table were all she had left of what would have been her younger sibling. She never got to find out what gender they would have been.

When a traveling peddler had seen the partially demolished front of their home and come in to either offer assistance or see about getting something to sell from the houses remains several days later, he was treated to the sight of the aftermath of the _youma’s_ attack. Furniture reduced to shreds scattered about the room. The table that her father had made for her mother snapped into pieces like a twig, the chair that she had sat on her mother's lap as she read to her torn clean in two. The doorway to the kitchen wrenched open with such force that it had been partially embedded into the wall, still stuck there by the handle of the door being impaled into said wall.

He was also treated to the sight of a young girl in filth covered clothing curled up in a corner, her expression vacant as she sat there, glassy eyes fixed on something that only she could see as she held two small pieces of cloth as close to her as she could.

One was a tatter piece of her father’s scarf; the blue wool cloth having been made by her mother as an anniversary present for him after he had announced that they were going to be moving from their small town to a homestead on the outskirts of the northern region of Alfons.

The second was one of the few remaining pieces of the summer dress that her mother had been wearing when they had been attacked. The dress had been a wedding gift from her deceased grandmother to her mother, the white and yellow dress had been beautifully made and had been in her mother's family for generations.

Now all that remained of it was a partially bloodstained piece of white fabric with the barest hint of a yellow design on the very edge of the torn strip of cloth clutched tightly against her chest. She had later placed them under her gauntlet after having bound them together into a crude bracelet. She had no idea what had happened to it now that she had awakened.

Perhaps the man was feeling kind or perhaps he merely felt pity for the young orphan girl who was the obvious survivor of a _youma_ attack. Or perhaps her merely desired to make a profit when her lifted the young girl into his arm and placed her in the back of his wagon as he sped away from the ruined home towards the nearest village.

She could only faintly recalled what happened next, but she was fairly certain that he had been the one to sell her to the organization in the stead of her own parents or the orphanage that she would have inevitably wound up being placed in.

She was still stuck in a traumatized silence to the point that she could not bring herself to speak up in her own defense as she was sold away into a childhood of indoctrination, abuse, experimentation, and a hellish torture of a training regimen designed to tear her down and then to rebuild her into a loyal soldier of the organization instead of the once young ad hopeful youth she had been.

Then Teresa did something that caught the younger woman off guard entirely.

She reached out her arm and outstretched her and gently placed it onto Priscilla’s shoulder as she gently coaxed the younger woman to rise to her feet, her left hand on her shoulder while her right reached out and gently took Priscilla’s own hand as she pulled her to her feet.

Even though she stood nearly a full head taller than her, she still felt dwarfed by the Woman before her as their gazes met once more. The sheer amount of power that the woman had at her command was like nothing that Priscilla could ever dream of obtaining. She operated under no delusions now, she knew that if she were to attempt anything to end this momentary peace, she would more than likely be forfeiting her life.

So, she remained calm as her body began to try to heal itself, at the very least it was attempting to staunch the flow of blood coming from her variety of wounds and insure that she did not bleed out before she saw...whatever this had become through to its end.

She was honestly starting to regret accepting the power that awakening had provided her. If for no other reason than the fact that it had made things so much more complicated.

Before things had been simple, there had been orders and directions and a sense of purpose, even though she could now recognize it as being little more than the indoctrination that she had undergone speaking it was still something to a young woman who had nothing left for her in the world.

She clung to that false sense of purpose so dutifully, so faithfully just like many of her fellow warriors did, because there was simple nothing else left for them in the world.

Family having either sold them or dead, or something they wished was dead.

Turned into a monster regardless of their desires and wills on the matter.

Turned into a killing machine, given no other choice or option in life other than to hunt and kill and one day be killed all the while being largely forbidden from defending themselves from the humans who heap their ungrateful abuse upon them even though they are the only ones keeping them safe from the _youma_ threat.

Teresa’s gaze never left hers, bright silver meeting equally as bright yellow as the two titans of power examined one another.

“You know you can’t go back.” It was not phrased as a question as Teresa spoke up for the first time in the few moments that they had been gazing at each other.

“I am fully aware,” Priscilla responded as she winced slightly feeling the torn muscles and ligament within her body beginning to mend, here tongue now fully restored so she could devote her power to fully repairing her body.

“No matter where you go, you’ll be hunted, just like we will be. They will never let you know peace.” Teresa said, her tone soft as she spoke to the young woman turned monster. Perhaps she was feeling a hint of pity or perhaps sympathy within her for the young woman who had just had her entire world turned on its head and spun around, or maybe it was for other reason entirely.

“Perhaps not, but with my newfound power I might be able to convince them of how...unwise it would be to provoke me. Given what we did to this area, I think it won’t take much to convince them to leave me be.” Priscilla said, shrugging, as though the thought of having those who were once her comrades hunting her down for the sole purpose of killing her was of little concern to her.

Teresa raised an eyebrow as she turned and for the first time examined the sheer destruction that the two of them had caused during their clash. Her eyes widened at the sight of the shattered stone pillars, now little more than small clumps of rubble and dust that was quickly blown away in the breeze. The sight of the shattered stones surrounding the tow of them, including the cracked and broken ground including several small craters and deep furrows carved into the earth itself, made her mouth open slightly in vague shock, something Priscilla was also feeling as she looked over the destruction that they had caused.

For several moments there was no sound from the two warriors as they examined the aftermath of their battle, before Priscilla turned to Teresa and spoke.

“Given this, I doubt that they will be in any hurry to come after you either. That is if they value their lives and the surrounding region,” she said in relation to her previous statement. Aches and pains still present throughout her body, despite her advanced regeneration, sang out in a chorus of agreements with her statement.

Teresa turned to her, expression having returned to its normal calm composure as she regarded Priscilla for a moment, before she outstretched her hand. Priscilla felt a shiver of dread run through her body at the sight of Teresa pulling her claymore from the earth where she had planted it before she had seized her throat, and with deft ease slide it into the sheath on her back before she, much to Priscilla’s shock, began to calmly turn and walk away.

“Where are you-” Priscilla spoke up to get the woman's attention once she had shaken herself out of her brief shock.

Teresa looked over her shoulder at the young woman, still in her monstrous form, and gave her a faint smile as she looked into her yellow eyes.

“I don’t see the point in fighting you anymore. To tell you the truth I think it would be for the best if we agreed to not go after each other, at least as long as the Organization is still around, for all we know they could be watching us fight one day and then when we’re both weak they would sweep in and either capture or kill us.” Teresa said as she stopped walking and partially turned towards Priscilla, her expression sincere.

“However,” Teresa continued, “if we agree to leave each other alone, or even combined our efforts, we might be able to do what no one else has ever considered possible.” The expression that the woman wore left no doubt as to the honesty of her statement, and her own sincere belief in its possibility.

Priscilla was not the only one who felt her eyes widen at the statement, as Irene and Noel were also fully aware of just what Teresa was suggesting. At least if their eyes widening and their jaws hanging slightly open was any indication.

“Y-you mean to,” Priscilla managed to stammer out, her gaze incredulous as she me Teresa’s eyes. ‘It...it might actually be possible’, she thought to herself, ‘if we could work together, if we could agree to truly work together, we might actually be able to do it. Although even that is up for debate, who is to say she won’t just try and kill me when my back is turned?’ Priscilla thought to herself, but even though she had her doubts about whether or not she could fully trust Teresa to not kill her once everything was said and done...the idea was tempting.

She stood there for several moment, her eyes meeting Teresa’s own yet not seeing them or her as she allowed her mind to wander...Yes, the idea was certainly tempting. No more warriors being made to hunt her down. No more women and little girls being tortured and abused as they were made into monsters against their own wishes or made to rethink their willingness to become said monsters as they hear the screams and cries of their fellows who lay naked and filthy in cells as their bodies writhe and contort in hellish agony as the changes and transformations overcome them until all that truly remains of their humanity is what little pieces of hit they clasped tightly to themselves in their torment.

Truthfully, Priscilla was more focused on the benefits that such a feat would grant her more so than the benefits that others would be able to knowingly or unknowingly reap from the organization meeting a long overdue end.

She could go home. To the ruins of that little homestead if she wished or to whatever area she chose to make into her domain, maybe some small and tranquil glade or remote patch of woodland where she could rest for a while, and there would be no one who would come after her, no one to hunt her and no one to hurt her again. That was so long as she didn’t provoke any one like Teresa or an Abyssal one that was but, she was hardly going to go out of her way to pick fights after the rather humbling thrashing she had just received prior to this conversation.

She could rest in that shadow laden glade under the warmth of the sun or the coolness of the moon, hunting a few wayward travelers or even some animals for food and live out her days in relative peace at last. No more whips tearing flesh from her back after she was hauled before her handler for failing an assignment or simply because the little bastard felt like it. No more nights walking through villages knowing that if a human attacked her, she would be helpless to stop them unless she wanted to risk word of her deeds reaching the Organization and her being marked for death like Teresa was.

“-illa.”

Although perhaps she would just tear the woman apart when her guard was down...no. She honestly doubted that even if Teresa was completely relaxed, her guard lowered to the point where even an ant could harm her, that the woman would allow for her to make a mockery of her mercy once more. She was honestly amazed that she was still alive as it was.

Teresa must take promises seriously.

Perhaps it was one of the few mementos of her humanity that she allowed herself to treasure, just like how she herself still greatly treasured those two scraps of cloth woven into a bracelet. She was honestly worried that it had been destroyed upon her transformation, or perhaps even earlier during their fight. The thought that her sole memento of her parents and of happier times being lost prompted her to feel worry begin to settle in.

She had always relied upon the bracelet as an anchor when her emotions were running wild and when she was having a tough day it had always served to ease her mind and soothe her troubled spirits, she hoped something horrible that it wasn’t destroyed.

“-riscilla,” She dimly registered the now slightly concerned voice of the elder warrior as she snapped out of her internal worries for a moment, although she still hoped that she had simply left the piece of cloth in her bag, something that she had taken to carrying around after having to wait for her wounds to regenerate several times over.

If she was lucky either Irene, Sophia, or Noel would have it and she would be able to get it back before they...

Irene, Sophia, and Noel...

Her heart rate suddenly slammed into a wall with how fast it went from a slightly accelerated pulse to a sudden and abrupt halt, her mind began to race as a sudden surge of nausea nearly overcame her, the repulsive mixture of shame and self-loathing nearly enough to force the young woman to her knees then and there.

How could she be so stupid?!

How could she lose herself right in front of them?!

She had wanted to prove herself to them. To prove that she wasn’t just some child handed the rank out of necessity or simply out of thought that she might only hold it for a little bit as she would more than likely perish in her attempt on Teresa’s life and now look at what she had done!

She recalled the friendly banter that she had overheard Noel and Sophia engaging in as she sat down in the corner of the small clearing that they were camping in early on in their mission, as well as the conversation that had led to her coming to care deeply for the group of three who she was accompanying in this foolhardy mission.

**Priscilla’s Recollection**

_The casual way the two spoke to each other, the shared camaraderie between the two warriors who traded barbs and quips to each other with no real heat between them as they seemed to be perfectly relaxed around each other. The ease with which the two interacted prompted a pang of jealousy to echo through her being as she sat there, calmly tucked into the shadow of a great tree, the roots gnarled and aged having burst from the ground forming a semi cage like opening that lead into a small grotto under the tree, although they had a fire lit outside of this little shelter, it was warm enough that they were considering just resting under the tree in the event the weather suddenly turned foul or something else entered the clearing drawn by the light of the fire._

_Her knees were drawn to her chest, one arm wrapped around them as she held up her other arm so that the wrist was at eye level as she tried to calm herself enough so that she could get some rest, the knowledge that they were going after a former number one had her greatly unsettled and, although she had calmed down some, her stomach still churned with anxiety leading to her seeking solace for a few moments. Her eyes having fixed themselves on her makeshift bracelet as she occasionally trailed her fingers over it._

_“Are you well?” The sudden question, asked in a low and smooth feminine voice, caused Priscilla to jump, her head impacting the root above her causing her to fall back down as she placed her hands on her now aching head as she collapsed back down into the dirt for a moment. Her eyes wide open she frantically turned looking in each direction until she spotted the source of the voice partially obscured in shadows, they reclined in one of the small corners of the grotto, a hand behind their head and the other calmly resting on their stomach._

_Priscilla forced herself to calm down as she took a deep breath and held it for a few moments, closing her eyes for the same amount of time and opening them to look at the older woman who shared the space with her._

_Irene, turned her gaze from the ‘ceiling’ of tangled roots and rocks, to look at her. Her silver eyes bright in the otherwise stygian conditions of the small grotto, save for the faint light that drifted through the small openings made by the roots to the area._

_There was something within those eyes that made Priscilla feel...calm or perhaps at ease was a better way of saying it. She had a feeling that the stern and cold mask that the woman typically wore around outsiders was lowered now, at least enough so that the older woman would allow a small modicum of compassion to show for her youngest comrade._

_Irene’s lips quirked up at the edges at the sight of Priscilla rubbing her head with her hands as she tried to ease the ache that was already forming from her impact with the ceiling._

_“I was until you did that,” was Priscilla’s response as she turned a small glare to the woman until she recalled just who she was speaking to prompting her to make small squeak as she immediately pushed herself further into the shadows comforting embrace, her eyes wide as she immediately snapped her mouth shut her lower lip caught between her teeth as she mentally reprimanded herself._

_‘Stupid, Stupid, Stupid,’ she yelled internally, ‘how could I be so damn stupid if she gets mad at me, she could-’ she faintly recalled the stories of abused heaped upon the younger and weaker members not just by the humans and their handlers, but by their own superior warriors that she had overheard. Stories of them humiliating their fellows or framing them for crimes so that they would be punished or even...using them._

_Her breathe began to come in small short burst as her eyes widened at the potential ramifications of her not minding her own damn tongue. Her pupils dilated as she began to tremble, her hand immediately seizing her wrist, desperate for the measure of comfort, however small that feeling her bracelet gave her._

_The sudden warmth of a hand on her shoulder nearly made her leap out of her skin given just how deep she had retreated into herself, the soothing warmth of the older woman’s hand seeping through her clothed shoulder, her pauldrons were resting on the ground near her as she had no desire to sleep with them metal digging into her shoulders again._

_She kept her gaze on her bracelet as she felt her body begin to tremble as her mind began to paint increasingly darker pictures about what Irene might do to her for speaking out of turn. Her handler had never liked being interrupted or having her question what she was told, the verbal and sometimes physical thrashings that she had endured had been proof enough of that, although he, thankfully, had not touched her like...that, she had a feeling it would happen eventually and she would be powerless to stop it. If she fought back against a superior, she would more than likely be killed, if she fought against a human she would be marked for death before she could tell her side of the story more than likely._

_This feeling of being powerless...she hated it more than anything else in the universe. More than the youma that had torn apart her family. More than those who looked down on her with pity or derision in their gazes and glares as they saw the young girl and not the woman who fought for others safety. She had thought that becoming a Warrior would have put an end to this hellish feeling, but no, it had instead only made it more pronounced._

_She didn’t look up at the older woman who was standing there, in the dimly lit room of roots and dirt and rocks, her hand resting on her younger fellows' shoulder, her thumb idly rubbing small circles on the young girl's skin as she simply stood there waiting for her younger fellow to calm down._

_Neither were fully aware of just how long they were like that, one trying to offer the other comfort or to at least ascertain just what was wrong with them, while the other tried desperately to push herself as deep into herself as possible so that she could potentially numb herself to what she was sure was going to happen._

_Evidently, however, they had been in their positions long enough that the fire outside had gone down to little more than embers, and their other two companions had wandered in seeking some shelter from the darkening sky outside, the stars fading as the clouds grew denser and the faint rumble of thunder echoed across the forest._

_“Hey Irene, what’s going on?” Priscilla faintly heard the voice of the woman with the spiked-up hair, Noel if she was able to recall right, ask her superior for the mission._

_“I am not certain, she spoke to me a little while ago and then started to panic for some reason. Now she’s locked herself away inside herself and I can’t convince her to come out.” The voice of her superior was low, probably whispered to her fellow warrior at the very least spoken lowly, either that or she had withdrawn so far into herself that she could only faintly register what was happening around her._

_“Here, let me try.” Priscilla heard the third member of their party, the woman with wavy hair and a nearly constant smile on her face just like Noel, only with a more noble, near regal, bearing, Sofia was her name if she recalled right although given how fast her thoughts were racing that was questionable._

_Feeling a pair of oddly smooth hands take her own, careful to not cover the bracelet that her eyes were fixed on, she found her hands being moved so that in order to look at her bracelet she had to meet her fellow warriors gaze, something that she was loathe to do at the moment._

_She tried desperately to avoid meeting the other woman’s eyes, narrowing her focus, her entire world view and perception, down to little more than those pieces of cloth bound into a crude bracelet, only for the woman to gently slide her hand over it prompting her to jump as she let out a strangled cry._

_Her fellow warrior didn’t move as she tried desperately to pull the woman’s calm and gentle, yet oddly firm and tight grip from her wrist, to no avail._

_“If you look at me, I’ll let go. Does that sound okay to you?” She registered the woman’s words after she repeated them again her voice raised a little bit, not yelling yet not quite normal volume either, just loud enough to gain her younger fellows' attention and not startle or scare her any more than she already was._

_Her desperation to be able to look at her bracelet again was so great that she immediately snapped her attention to meet Sofia’s eyes immediately, not caring about any ill repercussions, only seeing her beloved bracelet again._

_She saw no anger in the woman’s eyes, no hatred or resentment for being made to waster her time doing this, only a calm reassurance and dare she say it the faintest glimmer of sympathy hidden behind those silver orbs that seemed to gleam in the faint ray of moonlight that now shone through one of the openings in the clouds above and the roots near her. She saw the woman, not scowling or frowning in anger or irritation, but rather a gentle smile and a soft expression on her face._

_What she saw was enough to cause her to calm her struggling a little bit as she gazed into the older warrior’s eyes, but still glimpsing at her covered bracelet every few moments as she began to calm herself down to the point where she could at least begin to understand just what the older woman was stating._

_A low whimper left her lips as she forced her gaze to remain fixed on Sophia’s own eyes, her body trembling from the effort it took to keep her gaze on Sophia. Her panicked eyes, wild like those of a cornered animal, met the calm and rather un-commonly kind eyes of the woman across from her, prompting a small smile to grace Sophia’s face as she slowly relinquished her hold on Priscilla’s wrist as she placed her hands on the younger woman’s shoulders her smile widening a little bit as she calmly lifted up one hand and began to gently thread her fingers through Priscilla’s hair._

_They remained like that for a few moments, Priscilla calming herself down, reigning in her breathing and stilling the trembles that were running through her body, as she forced her gaze to remain on Sophia. Sophia kept threading her fingers through the younger woman’s hair, her warm smile a direct contrast to the thoughts racing through her mind as she mentally cursed the Organization and the one’s responsible for making this child into such a sad state._

_Sympathy welled within her as she looked the young girl over, noting the way that her muscles had clenched as though in preparation for either a flight or a fight and the small trails of nervous tears that had leaked from her eyes from the sheer amount of anxiety and panic racing through the girl. Under normal circumstances she would leave comforting the girl to someone else while she and Noel went...hunting. Most of the time she found that a simple talk was enough to convince people to leave one of them alone, other time...well..._

_What the Organization didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them._

_She was honestly more than a little glad that Teresa had flown the coop so to speak, and had seemingly found someone who could finally make the woman happy. Her respect for the woman was something matched only by her sheer terror at the prospect of facing her in a battle._

_She herself had had a small-scale panic attack when she was told by an equally shaken Irene just who they were after._

_Her exact words after learning it were something along the lines of “Oh shit.”_

_She shook herself from her thoughts when she had absently noticed Priscilla’s pale lips parting, the young girl seemed to be worried about something and her gaze kept flickering from her to her fellows with worry in her eyes as clear as day. The meaning behind the gazes wasn’t clear to her until she heard the young girl whimper out something to her ears sounded like a strained ‘please, don’t.’_

_She paused for a few moments, her mind going blank before she forced her smile to widen a bit more and closed her eyes so the girl wouldn’t see the flash of absolute rage that had formed a murderous look in her eyes, her rage such that she had to forcefully push down on the youki and killing intent that was desperate to leave her, something she was certain that the others were going through as well._

_She knew why the girl was panicking now and she was honestly tempted to join Teresa in being on the run from the Organization, because she was about to kill someone._

_None of the warriors knew just who had started the rumors about the single digits abusing their power to sue and abuse their own fellows with little to no fear of retribution, but she, as well as all of the other warriors, were in silent agreement as to whom they believed was behind the rumor._

_It wouldn’t surprise her to learn that the Organization spread it as a means of keeping the lower numbers afraid of their superiors so that they would be more receptive to being told to hunt down and kill them if they went rouge or were believed to be preparing to overthrow the Organization. It could also serve as means of dividing them and preventing them from gathering together into a large enough group to present a threat to the Organization._

_There were a few exceptions where the rumor proved to be true, but those were few and far between, and those that were guilty of said abuses of power were quick to find themselves without a single ally in their moments of need. When they were assigned a team to engage in an awakened being hunt, they were quick to find themselves alone against the beast, or forced to awaken through...other means. Sometimes they would try and take a fellow to their bed, only to be pushed to their absolute limit, youki erupting out of them as they themselves awakened, only to find their new lives cut short by a previously hidden comrade or by the ones who forced them to awaken themselves._

_It was obvious to her that the young woman before her had panicked after having said something to Irene and had panicked assuming that that was going to be done to her as revenge for speaking out of line to her superior._

_She knew that Irene had come to same conclusion as her when she heard the faint sharp intake of breath from behind her, and she knew when Noel had come to the same conclusion when she heard the faint growl that left the woman’s lips as she heard her turn around and walk over to a small corner of the room so that the girl wouldn’t see the naked fury blazing in her eyes._

_Noel had never been that good at concealing her emotions or controlling herself when it came to things like this, it was why either she or Sophia was the trio’s appointed diplomat while Noel was typically the one who was the muscle and Irene was the brains, and Teresa had once been their combination of all three whenever they worked with her._

_Yeah, she was still more than a little worried about fighting her old friend, she had a feeling they would be a lot safer defecting with her, but that decision was something that they would make as a team after they had taken stock of the situation with Teresa, hopefully they weren’t being watched or they would have to try and talk while fighting her._

_Her arms spread a bit as she leaned forwards and gently wrapped them around the younger woman’s shoulder’s, feeling Priscilla go stiff in her arms she gently whispered into the younger woman’s ear,_

_“It’s alright, none of us are going to even think of doing...that, to you. Listen kid...I know what it’s like...that feeling...” Sophia’s voice went quite as her eyes gained a glazed look to them as memories flashed before her eye for but a brief instant before they were forcefully pushed back into the depths of her mind, only lingering long enough for images and feelings to echo within her mind._

_Her parents looking at her, the dim candle light casting shadows across their faces as they looked down at the table in front of them, their faces dry of tears, their cheeks surprisingly gaunt and hollow. Their clothes were pulled tight against their frames as they just sat there, not looking at her nor speaking a single word._

_The oppressive silence and the weight of the apprehension and nervousness that had begun building in her were enough to force the young girl to stammer out a question. The response brought her to her knees in tears._

_Being strapped to a table as men clad in black cut her open after inserting needles into her. The need to scream but the inability to do so as she felt as though her vocal cords were writhing and thrashing within her throat as her flesh seemed to wish to tear itself off of her bones and retreat into one of the shadow laden corners that she could see out of the corners of her eyes under the blazing candles that lined the chandelier that hung above the table she lay naked upon._

_Her eyes twitched and jerked around the room against her will, fighting against her desires as they darted from place to place and person to person, the faces obscured in shadows as they looked down at her with cold indifference. Blood vessels burst in her eyes in such numbers that the whites of her eyes were now a blood soaked scarlet, the agony prompting tears of blood to flow down her pale cheeks, slowly dripping onto the floor during the few moments she was able to still her head forcing herself to focus on the wooden block in her mouth that she was clenching in between her teeth. She could feel small splinters of wood broken off from the force of her bite jabbing into her gums prompting more rivulets of blood that she was forced to swallow or drown in. Occasionally there would come a sharp stinging agony from the area of her chest that and been cut open and was now in the process of being slowly stitched closed._

_She felt humiliation for being stripped and laid bare before the cold and cruel gazes of these men, agony and rage as they bound her hands and wrists with thick iron manacles and then forced a small wooden block attached to a tight leather strap into her mouth, and then tied the strap so tight she couldn’t dislodge the block no matter how hard she tried. The pain of a scalpel slicing clean through the flesh of her chest, something that was plenty clear to her even with the sedatives and other frigid or boiling fluids were flowing through her veins making them burn or freeze in agony even through the numbness that had spread through her chest._

_The hellish experience lasted for what seemed to be hours, her mind retreating deeper and deeper into her subconscious, trying desperately to escape the hell that it was currently experiencing, only for the fresh waves of agony to force it back to the surface each time._

_The next image was of the cell where she met the woman who would become one of her closest friends and it was that image that helped to solidify her resolve to help her younger comrade out with what she was enduring. She could perfectly remember what was said and done in that cell and she would be able to do so for the rest of her life._

_She had no idea when she had lost consciousness, only that when she came to, she was no longer in the operating room, rather she had been flung unceremoniously into the cool dirt of a dark cell. The air was dense with the stench of fear and the reek of bodies locked away within the confines of the cells that she could faintly make out the outlines of in the stygian conditions._

_The cell was bare save a threadbare mattress and equally threadbare blanket and a bucket, the walls were smooth stone save for the faint marks and indentations made into them from someone clawing at the wall, with either their nails or a sharp rock. Some of the indentations appeared to be tally marks reflecting time spent in the cell, while others appeared as nonsensical ramblings of an agonized mind._

_She barely had time to process this before the frigid chill that wafted through the room from an unidentified source reminded her that she had been stripped naked, the chill prompting her to slowly move over to the blanket, although even inching her way forward brought about fresh waves of agony._

_“You alright?” The voice that came from a shadowed corner near the bed made her jump, prompting a whimper of pain to leave her lips as she fell into the cold soil again, actually somewhat thankful for the frigid chill as it did something to help ease even the slightest bit of the pain that was currently tearing through her body._

_“Shit, I’m sorry,” she heard the voice from earlier, obviously female and with a lower tone than her own say from closer to her as the woman who was speaking moved themselves over to her side, pulling the blanket with them._

_She felt the woman settle near her, and then she felt the chill on her bare side abate a little bit, as the threadbare blanket was laid over her, unconsciously she tried to speak up and thank the woman, only for a wave of agony to rip itself through her prompting another whimper from her as she tried to furrow even deeper into the dirt, uncaring of the dirt that was getting into her slightly bloodstained hair or into her ear, only about escaping the pain that was tearing through her._

_“Woah, easy there, you need to rest for a little bit. Don’t try and talk, just relax.” the woman said as she laid down beside her, gently draping the blanket over both of them as she moved closer to Sophia, gently holding the trembling woman in her strained arms._

_“If we stay like this for a little while we’ll be able to stay warm and you’ll be able to rest some.” The woman said as she gently placed her head behind Sophia’s careful to not make any loud noise or sudden movements, only slow and slightly strained ones._

_There was a time where Sophia would have yelled or sobbed at the thought of being seen like this and yet all that she managed to muster to convey her hidden distress over the situation were the handful of slightly red tears that leaked from the corners of her eyes._

_The sensation of a cool hand gently wiping them away, made her shiver slightly, the coolness helping to ease the pain somewhat, but also making goosebumps rise all over her body._

_“Don’t cry,” the woman behind her said softly, warm breath against her ear as she spoke, “there’s nothing to be ashamed of kid, trust me. I’ve seen far worse...much worse, besides your plenty beautiful, so you’ve got nothing to cry about.” She heard the voice let out a strained laugh, and she herself had to holdback a slight giggle for fear of the pain it would cause her._

_“Name’s Noel by the way, you can tell me your later when you're feeling better. Something tells me we’ll be spending a lot of time together.” That was where the last memory ended, what for others would have been an instant was for her seemingly an eternity, her pale cheeks flushed slightly as she recalled the sensation of her dearest friend and rival’s naked form being pressed against her from behind, but she quickly quelled the thoughts it brought to the surface._

_Her comrade needed her right now._

_“You have nothing to be afraid of,” She whispered into Priscilla’s ear, feeling the younger woman grow stiller for but a moment before she slightly relaxed at the earnestness of the words and the gentleness of the voice. Her body began to relax more and more until she was finally not as tense a startled animal, readying to dash away at a moment's notice, and was instead beginning to relax as she tried to turn her head to look at Sophia, prompting the other woman to lean back enough so that the two women were meeting each other’s gaze again, Priscilla’s eyes were wet with tears as she looked at Sophia._

_“...” She mumbled something under her breathe as she looked at the older woman, although it was too low for even Sophia’s enhanced hearing to fully make out just what she said, prompting the older warrior to speak up._

_“What was that?” Sophia asked as she leaned in closer to the young woman, prompting Priscilla to speak up once more, her voice low and shaky._

_“R-really?”_

_The sheer desperation in the younger woman’s voice was enough to move the hearts of those present within the chamber as Sophia pulled her closer to her, and leaned in close to her ear and whispered her response as Noel moved to stand next to Irene before the two took their seats next to the two of them, huddled close in that small dark alcove as thunder began to roar outside and rain began to pound onto the ground, small amounts of water dripping through small holes in the ceiling but not near enough to them to worry them._

_Without even turning to look at her fellows she knew what their answers would be, the weight of Irene and Noel’s gazes on her, and the way that they leaned in closer to the two of them, Irene wrapping an arm around Priscilla’s shoulders, and Noel wrapping one around Sophia’s shoulders were all of the confirmation that she needed._

_“Yes, really.”_

_“ **Priscilla!”**_

**Recollection End**

" **Priscilla!** ”

The sudden yell, accompanied by a rather large piece of rock being chucked at and promptly breaking against, her chest prompted her to snap out of her reverie, blinking in slight confusion as to what had happened, she looked around attempting to ground herself into reality once more.

She noted that Clare was now being held in Teresa’s arms, situated firmly on the older woman’s lap with one arm wrapped around her waist holding her close and the other calmly threading itself through Clare’s auburn locks as the younger girl laid her head on Teresa’s bosom, her eyes having drifted shut, seemingly asleep as she relaxed in her guardian's hold. Teresa herself seemed to be ready to join her charge in the realm of dreams if her eyes being closed and her holding Clare close as one would hold a pillow or a favored doll or toy. The older woman’s armor lay on the ground near her, still soaked scarlet with her blood, and although Teresa’s undershirt and such had been concealed by the armor she wore, it was still covered in small scarlet stains that seemed to have been dried with a few small pieces of cloth that lay on the ground near her armor. Some of those small cloth pieces were still on her, covering areas that had been a bit more stubborn to clean or dry she absently noted.

The mental image that called to mind made her giggle at the thought of Teresa, holding onto a little doll made to look like Clare, or the girl herself dressed up as a doll, as she slept in a nightgown like a little girl, complete with her smiling softly like she was now.

Another, smaller piece of rock, a pebble really, hitting her chest again prompter her eye to twitch as she turned to look at the most likely candidate of the pebble's origin, and she wasn’t disappointed.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Irene trying to use on arm, the other being used to support Sophia who was still unconscious, something which prompted a surge of anxiety and worry to race through her, and the other arm attempting to restrain a rather irritated Noel who was currently looking for another rock to toss at her.

A sigh left her lips as she calmly strolled towards the three wounded Warriors, the sensation of pins and needles in her legs alerting her to the fact that sudden movement was probably not a good idea, something further proven by her staggering and nearly falling on her face if she hadn’t managed to right herself as fast as she could.

The sound of giggling from Noel caused her gaze to snap upwards, her eye twitching once more as she looked up and glared at the older Warrior who was watching her attempt to move forward without falling on her own face with each step.

She was certain that it was indeed an amusing picture to the one’s watching, but for her it was not very funny especially considering the fact that her body still felt the aches and pains from her earlier battle, even her newfound regeneration was having trouble mending the sheer number of bruises that Teresa had managed to give her.

“Noel,” she growled out, her voice low and her irritation plenty clear when it came to the older woman’s little antics, “would you please stop laughing at me? I would really like to see you try and walk around with your legs asleep and do any better than I am.” She growled out, her intense gaze was able to pick up the way the woman twitched at the mention of walking with her legs asleep, prompting her brow to raise as a thought that brought a small smile to her face ran through her mind.

“Funny you should-” Irene began only for Noel to cut her off by quickly covering her friends' lips with her right hand, her left hand still trapped under Sophia’s prone form, Irene’s eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed into thin slits as she turned a glare on her fellow, no real malice within it, just more than a little irritation.

“Oh,” Priscilla said, before Noel could open her mouth to either beg forgiveness from her friend or to try and say something to change the subject as she slowly began to draw nearer to the three warriors, “do tell Irene.”

Just as Noel opened her mouth to try and say something in her own defense, she let out a startled yelp and withdrew her hand from Irene’s mouth, turning to glare at her friend.

“Did you just bite me!?” Noel said her voice raised to a near yell, as she glared at her friend who merely smirked as she leaned to the side and spat.

“Yes, I did, you had dirt on your hand and now it’s in my mouth Noel.” Irene responded in a chillingly calm tone as her eyes narrowed into a cold glare as she looked at Noel who blinked before she gained an abashed look on her face as she blushed and looked away from her friend.

“Oh-uh yeah...I guess I did huh?” She said giving a slight nervous laugh at the end, as Irene turned and spat out more dirt and even a small piece of rock before she turned back and gave Noel a frigid glare, one that promised her that no small amount of retribution was heading her way.

“Noel I am going to...” Whatever Irene was going to say was cut off when Priscilla finally managed to get close enough to be standing over the three of them, her towering form casting a shadow on them as the sunlight that was now shining through the overcast turned silhouetted her towering form perfectly, something which prompted Irene and Noel alike to let out gasps.

The towering woman was still for a few moments more before she suddenly knelt down in front of them her eyes fixed on the unconscious Sophia as she unconsciously reached out her hand, the clawed digits gleaming in the light and yet neither Irene nor Noel made a move to stop her, perhaps frozen in fear of her imposing form up-close or perhaps for some other reason entirely...perhaps they knew...

Her claws, sharp enough to tear through steel as though it were little more than the thinnest cloth, neared the injured Warriors throat, all under the intense gaze of the transformed woman’s bright yellow eyes and the pair of Warrior's silver eyes, and perhaps Teresa’s own gaze although she was uncertain as her gaze was focused on the young woman before her.

Her clawed digits could lance clean through bone with the most minimal of effort, the knowledge being something that had become engraved into her brain upon awakening, a pure and primal knowledge that came from deep within her own subconsciousness.

Killing a wounded Warrior would be as simple as breathing for her.

But that was not what she had in mind.

Perhaps in another time and another place she would have killed all of those that stood here, her mind submerged in a maelstrom of pure and primal hunger and an all-consuming blood-lust, as she tore apart those who stood before her down to the young girl or maybe she would spare her...she was honestly uncertain what she would have done with her if it had come to that.

Yet this was not that time and it was not that place, and so for the first time in the known history of Alfonse, an awakened being whose power was matched only by that of the Creatures of The Abyss and was dwarfed only by that of the titan of power that rested nearby, Teresa of The Faint Smile, began to gently caress the cheek of wounded and unconscious Claymore before her all the while flickering her concerned gaze from one wounded friend to the other.

When Sophia turned head into the soothing caress of Priscilla’s hand, Irene and Noel knew that their little group (more of a little family in all honesty) was going to be heading into uncharted waters.

And yet, they strangely felt happy with this knowledge, a sense of contentment welling up deep inside of them as they saw the young woman in the body of a monster fussing over them while their old friend sat nearby, keeping an eye on them, even though she seemed to be asleep, with her _yoki_ sensing ability, with a young human child wrapped lovingly in her arms.

Sure no one may claim to know what the future may hold and yet they felt at peace with whatever may come as they knew that no matter how rough or calm the waters may become, they would not be facing what was to come alone.

A sentiment shared by all members of that group subconsciously as they rested on that devastated battlefield, was that they would be perfectly fine As long as they were together.

They could decide what they were going to do later on, but for now they needed to get some rest and recover from their fight, maybe once Irene and Noel had healed a bit more Teresa and Priscilla would move them somewhere else, somewhere safer, but for now they were fairly confident that there wouldn’t be an attempt on all of them for a little while.

So, they would stay there for as long as their fellows needed (although if the rocks were any indication Noel at least might be nearly ready to start moving) to recover enough so that movement was not painful or hindered by their wounds.

And so, the weave of fate was set to burn in a blaze of bright blue flames as the world began to turn down a new path. For some it would be a better path, leading to a much brighter future, and for others...it would lead to a much darker and far less pleasant destination.

**Outside**

Far beyond the borders of the universe a pair of swirling amber and lustrous gold eyes mixed with hints of a vivid emerald and a vibrant ruby glinted with joy as they turned to meet a pair of bright necrotic green orbs that were focused intently on the universe before them for a moment more before they turned to meet their fellows gaze.

“I believe that this benefits us both, yes Vita?” A male’s voice spoke, calm and collected the voice was at the same time the soft and lilting tone of a child and the gentle, soft-spoken tone of a young man, the low and silken dulcet tones* of the male prompting a pleasant shiver to run down the Multi-colored eyed woman’s, Vita’s, spine.

“Yes Lucius,” her tone was at once the gentle caress of a lover, low and sultry with a silvery undertone to the words, and gentle loving warmth of sunlight streaming through the windows from the skies above warming one both inside and out with a maternal warmth, “It does indeed,” she said as she turned her multi-colored gaze to her equals Necrotic orbs.

“Can you guarantee me that they will be happy,” She asked Lucius who was silent for several moments before he answered truthfully, there was no need or reason for deception between the two, and he had always been fond of honesty no matter how cruel and brutal it might be.

“No....I can watch over them and I can allow for them to live until such a time as they are ready to move on due to their longevity, but you know that I cannot guarantee that they will be happy, only that they will survive. It may sound cold you Vita but they have a purpose to fulfill, remember that in exchange for the slight alterations made to their destinies and the bonds I have awakened between them, they will serve as my blade on their world. That and the fact that I highly doubt the young Lynch-pin's would be happy if their families died and we do not need another mess like **_That_** to have to clean up. Besides what makes them happy is ultimately something only they can choose, I cannot simply will them to be anything more than falsely happy and we both know that I will not do so.”

Vita was silent for several moments before she replied, “As long as they are all alive and well then I will allow for you to nudge them in your chosen direction but remember Lucius, it is inevitably up to them to decide just what they will do when the time comes to make their decision. Is that understood my love?” Vita asked to her equal prompting him to raise an eyebrow for a moment before he gave a faint nod, his face displaying no signs of anger or of sorrow only a calm and peaceful expression of intrigue and wonder as he turned to gaze at the world that rested beyond the tear in reality he had manifested before them.

“Yes, I will not interfere in their decisions, but I can reward them for completing their service can I not Vita?” He asked his gaze not leaving the boulder sized rift before him.

Her eyes narrowing for but a moment before they widened as a shocked gasp left the woman’s lips as her gaze turned incredulous as she looked at her equal.

“You mean? You would?” She asked tentatively, if he was talking about doing what she thought he was speaking of than they would be able to complete the task she had selfishly appointed to them without their consent, simply out of her own innate need to see life live and thrive and be more than happy doing so.

“Yes. Provided they have done something to equate the value of it then yes, I would have no problem doing it for one of them. They are after all among your chosen little one’s are, they not my dear?” He asked with a coy smile on his face as he saw his fellow blush slightly for a moment as she stammered and stuttered for a few moments before she simply harrumphed and turned to the side prompting him to break out in chuckles.

“I wonder what they will do next.” He said as he calmly closed his eyes for a few moments, a smile stretching across his is face as he contemplated the possibilities.

He was certain that the two of them would enjoy whatever happened next, already his interest was piqued and the story had only just begun for them.

**Chapter One End**

**Author's Note:**

> Authors Note: Well it took me several weeks due in small part to my problems with procrastination and me having to fully map out just what I wanted to accomplish with this chapter, and while I will not say it is the best it has turned out much better than I originally thought it would be, I my honest opinion. I hoped you enjoyed reading my first posted work, I am hoping to post this on Archives of Our Own as well one day but that is for the future so for now, I have a few parting things to say. 
> 
> Forgive me for any misspellings in this part as it is 1 in the morning right now where I live so I am more than a little tired as my energy drinks and cookies have long worn off. 
> 
> I am uncertain of how to properly use dulcet-tones in a sentence and I will welcome any advice on how to better use it in a sentence hence the * in the Outside part of the chapter. 
> 
> I know that Clare has light brown hair, but for this story and because it just popped into my mind, let’s just imagine our happy and bubbly little Clare with a lighter auburn hair instead hmm? If a lot of people disagree, I will change it but bear in mind this is an AU story so not everything will fit canon. 
> 
> In fact, I'm pretty sure that we just shot canon out of a cannon (pun intended) and this is only the beginning. 
> 
> There are probably a few things that I am forgetting but I will have to review them later on and might edit this note as such so keep your eyes peeled for that happening and fan art is welcome and appreciated greatly, sadly I cannot pay for it, and I will not force you to make it so only do so if you really like a particular scene or so. 
> 
> But if you do make some, please post it on DeviantArt so that everyone can enjoy it and you will get a shout out in the next chapter or in another story. 
> 
> I might see everyone’s reviews but I will try and see most of them, I am only one person so I am somewhat limited in that capacity. 
> 
> Either way, have a great day my dear readers. 
> 
> Auf Wiedersehen.


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